Cpl Frederick Chance, 22447, 6th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment, died of wounds at the 48th Field Ambulance station in France on April 8th, 1918. He left a widow and two children in Luton.

He had been in France for two years, the last seven months after a spell of home leave.

Born in Luton in March 1890, he had married Alice Elizabeth Roberts in 1910. The couple lived at 36 New Street, Luton, and had two sons - Ronald and Arthur.

Before enlistment Frederick was employed as a carter by coal merchant Richard Dudley, of Ashton Road, Luton.

Pte William James Hinds, 23459, 6th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment, was killed in action in France on April 3rd, 1918.

William was a son of George and Elizabeth Sarah Hinds, of Rose View, Cumberland Road [now Compton Avenue], Leagrave. He had been wounded in May 1917.

In the 1911 Census William was described as a 19-year-old nurseryman's assistant.

Pte Horace Arthur ('Jack') Clark, 12427, 6th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment, died of wounds in a Canadian clearing station in Flanders on February 28th, 1918. He had previously served in the trenches for three years without injury.

A telegram on March 1st, 1918, stated that Pte Clark had been severely wounded in the legs, arms, hands and face. The following day brought news of his death and burial by a Church of England chaplain in a military cemetery.

Pte William Roe, 27967, 6th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment, was killed in action in Belgium on October 7th, 1917. He was aged 24.

No reports of his death seem to have been published in Luton newspapers, but other records show he was a son of Lewis (or Louis) and Emma (or Emily) Roe, of 6 Talbot Road, Luton. His cousin, Stanley John Roe (32254, 2nd Bedfords), died on the battlefield on September 20th, 1917, and is commemorated on the Luton Roll of Honour with the same address.

Pte Charles Herbert Halfpenny, 32135, 6th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment, was killed in action in Flanders on August 9th, 1917. According to a letter sent to his widow Dorothy he was the victim of a sniper while he slept.

Charles Halfpenny had joined the Territorials prior to the war and was mobilised with the 5th Bedfords at the outbreak of hostilities. He was wounded during the Gallipoli Campaign and invalided home.

Leaving Halton in November 1916 he went to France, where he was drafted into the 6th Bedfords and again wounded, in May 1917.

Sgt Arthur William Groves, 9643, 6th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment, was killed in action in Belgium on August 6th, 1917. He is commemorated on the Luton Roll of Honour but may not have had much association with the town as no local address is recorded for him.

His death also appears to have gone unrecorded in the Luton Press, but his step-father was born in the town and members of his family lived here after the war.

Pte Walter Ernest Boskett, 32209, 6th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment, died as a prisoner of war on May 9th, 1917. He was aged 38.

There does seem to have been some confusion on the battlefield. Second Lieut Dudley W. Wright wrote to widow Maud at 99 Ashton Road, Luton: "With great regret I have to inform you that your husband, Pte W. E. Boskett, of this battalion, was killed in action on the 25th of April. He was killed by a shell, and his death was instantaneous. The officers and men would like to send their deepest sympathy."

Pte Archie Walter Patten, 32151, 6th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment, died in Etaples Hospital, France, on May 4th, 1917, from serious wounds sustained in the Battle of Arras on April 23rd. He was single and aged 24.

He had enlisted in the 1/5th Bedfords at the outbreak of war and took part in the Dardanelles campaign. He was invalided home with dysentery and spent three months in the Mile End Hospital. In November 1916 he was drafted to France.

Pte Leonard Smith MM, 35961, 6th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment, was killed in action in the Battle of Arras on or just before April 29th, 1917. He was aged 29 and born in Peterborough.

Although his name is included on the Luton Roll of Honour, there is no accompanying Luton address. With no local Press reports of his death, his Luton connection is not clear.

In the 1911 Census he is described as a tailor's presser living in Leicester with Martha Alice (nee Trowell) whom he married about a year previously. The couple were to have three children.

Pte Frederick William Priest, 31980, 6th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment, was killed in action in the Battle of Arras some time between April 23rd and April 29th, 1917.

He is included on the Luton Roll of Honour with an address at 3 Denbigh Road, Luton, although other records give an address at 8 Walsworth Villas, Hitchin. No report of his death seems to have been published in the local Press.

Pte Henry Andrews, 32099, 6th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment, was killed in action in France on April 29th, 1917.

He is commemorated on the Luton Roll of Honour with an address given as 43 Langley Street, Luton, although street directories from the time of his death suggest that may be a post-war family address. There appear to be no reports of his death in the local Press to provide further information.

Pte Joseph James Beaver, 32105, 6th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment, was killed in action near Gavrelle in France on April 28th, 1917. He was aged about 24.

Although he is included on the Luton Roll of Honour but without an address, there appears to be no local Press report of his death at the time and little is known about his life in Luton. Military records say that his parents, James and Elizabeth, were living in London, where Joseph was born, but he was likely to have been living and/or working in Luton before the war.

Pte Frederick George Gurney, 32223, 6th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment, was killed in action at the Battle of Arras on April 28th, 1917. He was aged 22.

His father, Tom Gurney, of 48 Hartley Road, Luton, was given the sad news in a letter from Second Lieut G. Peel, of the Beds Regiment. He said Pte Gurney, the No 1 of his Lewis Gun Team, had suffered no pain as he was killed instantaneously by a shell.

L-Cpl George Kidman, 12387, 6th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment, was killed in action on April 23rd, 1917, during the Battle of Arras. He was aged 22.

In a letter to widowed mother Mrs Amelia Kidman, living at 16 Ashton Road, Luton, company commanding officer Lieut D. M. Saunders said L-Cpl Kidman and two friends were killed by a shell while sitting in a trench on April 23rd. He died instantly and suffered no pain.

Pte Albert Harris, 13240, 6th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment, was killed in action in the Battle of Arras on April 25th, 1917. He was aged 32.

The news was broken to his twice-married mother Esther Rolt at her home in Summer Street, Slip End by Second Lieut G. Peel, of the Beds Regiment. Albert joined the Bedfords at the outbreak of war and had one period of home leave after spending about a year in the trenches.