Albert Edward Scarr – Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, Howe Battalion
Able Seaman Albert Edward Scarr – Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, Howe Battalion
Early Life
Albert Edward Scarr was born in 1899 in
Northamptonshire, the son of Edward Scarr and Ellen Spokes,
who married in 1894 at Daventry. Albert spent his early childhood in the
rural parish of Woodford cum Membris, where his father worked as a
carrier for the local markets.
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| 1901 Census |
In the 1901 Census, the Scarr family were living at 147 Station Road, Woodford cum Membris. Albert’s father, Edward, aged 37, was employed as a Market Carrier, while his mother Ellen, aged 26, looked after their two children: Florence (4) and Albert (2). Also living with the family was Kate Spokes, aged 13, recorded as a sister‑in‑law, showing the close-knit support typical of rural families at the time.
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| 1911 Census |
By 1911, the family had moved to 1193c Neath Road, Swansea, following the pattern of many families relocating to industrial South Wales in search of work. The census records Edward, now 47, working as a Labourer under the Great Western Railway, while Ellen, aged 36, managed the household. Their children were Florence Emily (14), Albert Edward (12), Winifred Elsie (9) and Phyliss Kathleen (7). The home also included three boarders—James Edwards (33), Thomas Norton (34) and Violet Norton (22)—a common arrangement in working‑class districts, helping to supplement household income.
Military Service
As a young man, Albert enlisted in the Royal Naval
Volunteer Reserve, serving as an Able Seaman with the Howe
Battalion of the Royal Naval Division. The division, formed
predominantly from naval reservists, fought as infantry throughout the First
World War, enduring some of the most demanding actions on the Western Front. By
1916, the Howe Battalion was operating in France as part of the British Army’s
V Corps.
Howe Battalion on 13th November 1916
On 13th November 1916, the Howe Battalion
took part in the Attack on Beaucourt, launched during the opening phase
of the Battle of the Ancre—the final major British offensive of the
Somme campaign. In the weeks leading up to the battle, the battalion had been
positioned in the Mailly‑Maillet and Hamel sectors, rotating
between front‑line trench duty and rest periods at Englebelmer. Before
dawn on the 13th, the battalion advanced through darkness, mud and thick fog
toward the heavily fortified German positions overlooking the Ancre Valley.
The attack was met with intense resistance. German machine‑guns sited along Station Road and around the surrounding trench systems inflicted heavy casualties as the Howe Battalion struggled forward across shattered ground. Despite the artillery barrage laid down to support the attack, the battalion’s advance was slowed by deep mud, waterlogged shell holes and the disorienting fog. Many men were killed or went missing during the assault, including several Able Seamen whose names now appear on the Somme rolls of honour.
Though the battalion suffered severe losses, the wider
division ultimately achieved its objective with the capture of Beaucourt
on 14 November after prolonged fighting. The action remains one of the most
costly and determined efforts undertaken by the Royal Naval Division during its
first major battle on the Western Front.
Death
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| British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records |
According to the British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records, Able Seaman Albert Edward Scarr was killed in action on 13th November 1916, during the opening assault on Beaucourt. Like many of his comrades who fell that day, he has no known grave.
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