COPE

		Source
		CWGC	SDGW	Uttoxeter Advertiser	Other
Parents	William and Rebecca Cope	Yes			5, 10f
Parents	William Cope			8a, 8b	4c
Where born	Uttoxeter		Yes		4a, 5, 10f
When born	About 1889				6, 10f
Address	Dove Bank, Uttoxeter, Staffordshire			8a, 8b	5
	116 Dove Bank, Uttoxeter
	Uttoxeter, Staffordshire	Yes
Spouse
Children
Employment Before Joining up	Clerical Department of the London County Council	Yes		Yes
Employment Before Joining up	Clerk				4a
Where enlisted	Joined from the Clerical Staff of London County Council	Yes
Where enlisted	London		Yes		4a, 4d
Regiment & Unit	Royal Field Artillery	Yes		8b	4a, 5
	Royal Horse and Royal Field Artillery		Yes		4b, 4d
	"A" Bty. 107th Bde.	Yes			4b, 4f
Rank	Driver	Yes	Yes	8a, 8b, 8c	4b, 4f, 5
Service Number	41428	Yes	Yes		4a, 4b, 4f, 5
Date of Death	20 August 1916	Yes	Yes	8b	4c, 4f, 5
Age at time of death	27	Yes			5
Where Killed or died	Montauban, Somme			Yes
Where Killed or died	France/Flanders		Yes
How he died	Killed in action		Yes	8b	4f, 5
Location of Grave or Memorial	Dantzig Alley British Cemetery, Mametz - Grave VII. C. 8.	Yes
	Uttoxeter Town War Memorial				5
	Stoke Archdiaconal Association of Bell Ringers Memorial (Stoke Church)				5
Awards	Mentioned in despatches			8a	2

The 1891 Census^10f shows Albert as a baby living at 116 Dove Bank, Uttoxeter with his parents and siblings as follows:

Relationship	Name	Age	Occupation	Where born
Father	William Cope	54	Cabinet[? – the writing is difficult to read] Turner	Staffs - Uttoxeter
Mother	Rebecca Cope	46		Staffs – Wolverhampton
Brother	Thomas Cope	13	Office Boy	Staffs – Uttoxeter
Sister	Ethel Cope	11	Scholar	Staffs – Uttoxeter
Brother	Percy Cope	6	Scholar	Staffs – Uttoxeter
SELF	Albert B Cope	2		Staffs – Uttoxeter

Albert spent the early part of his life in his father's business^{5, 8b}, becoming highly proficient in wood-turning and wood-carving^8b. His obituary in the Uttoxeter Advertiser^8d said that the many fine specimens he had left testified to his abilities. We wonder if any examples of his work have survived? It would be wonderful to see them and include pictures here.

He entered the service of the London County Council^{5, 8d} at the earliest age possible^8d and, as the Uttoxeter Advertiser reported^8d, in this capacity soon came to be an esteemed and valued servant. This same article quoted the words of the head of his department, who said that he was a "most willing, hard and conscientious worker, and a splendid right-hand man".

He joined the Army on 17^{th 4a} October 1914^{1, 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, 4f}, from the Clerical Department of the London County Council¹. He was 25 years old^{4a, 4d} and enlisted for three years^4f.

Albert’s enlistment papers give us an insight into his general appearance. He was not a large man - at the time of enlisting he was 5ft 5 inches tall^4d, weighed 126 lbs^4d and had a chest measurement of 35 ¾ inches^4d. He had a fresh complexion^4d, hazel eyes^4d and brown hair^4d.

He must have been sent straight from London to Perth because his service record^4b shows that he was posted there as a Driver on the 18^th October 1914.

He then joined 6 Depot at Glasgow on the 31^st of October 1914^4b and a little less than a month later, on 22^nd November 1914, he was posted with “A” Battery, 107^th Royal Field Artillery^4b.

He was posted to the British Expeditionery Force on the 30^th of August 1915^4c. His service record says that he was at Deepcut on that date^4f and he then went to the Western Front on 22^nd January 1916^4f.

His ability soon brought him a position as a signaller^4f. It was in this capacity that he was mentioned in despatches^{2, 4c, 4f} by the Commander in Chief in June 1916^4c for gallant and distinguished conduct in the field.

This resulted in his name appearing in the second supplement to the London Gazette edition of 13^th June 1916^4f. His name appears on a page dated Thursday 15^th of June 1916^{4c, 4f, 9a}:

The Uttoxeter Advertiser said that everything pointed to a brilliant future^4d. He had a most cheerful disposition and a fine sense of humour, and these qualities were reflected in his letters^4d. They also drew him a large number of friends, both in Uttoxeter and London^4d.

Albert’s obituary in the Uttoxeter Advertiser said that on several occasions his escapes from death whilst laying and repairing telephone wires were marvellous^4d. We do not know details.

...He was killed instantaneously by the explosion of a shell whilst on duty at a signalling station - one of the most important duties for which we have to find men". He went on to say that "he was one of my most trusted signallers and frequently used to accompany me, so that I saw more of him than most of the other men in the battery. We have often sat in some small dug-out for many hours....

His service record shows that in total he accumulated 317 days of Home Service and 356 days in France^4c.

As he was an enthusiastic and accomplished bell-ringer, the ringers at Uttoxeter Parish Church gave a special 'touch' with the bells half-muffled, as a token of respect for their departed colleague on the Sunday evening after they heard of his death^8d.