L-Cpl Archibald George Dexter, 233498, 1/2nd Battalion London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers), was killed in action in Belgium on August 16th, 1917. A chum on leave, Pte Smith, of New Town Street, Luton, said he had seen L-Cpl Dexter's party fall and had helped to bring them in and bury them. L-Cpl Dexter was killed instantly when a shell burst among the group of five men - all but one from Luton - whom he was in charge of.

Archibald - known as George - was the second son of Edmund Edward and Sarah Dexter, of 5 Warwick Road, Luton, to be killed in action. Their eldest son, Edmund Charles, went down with HMS Invincible during the battle of Jutland in May 1916, and his body was never found.

George had been employed with his father under Mr G. H. Barrett in the brass foundry at George Kent Ltd before war broke out. Although barely 18, he sought his father's permission to join a group of men from Kent's who responded to the first call to join the colours in 1914. He joined the 2/5th Bedfords and was soon made a lance-corporal. He returned to Luton with a small group of men during a recruiting week.

He remained with the 2/5th Bedfords at Newmarket and Harrogate until mid-1916, when he included in a draft sent to join one of the London Fusilier Battalions in France. and his experiences at the front were described as stirring. George was wounded five times and gassed once, and although one was a "Blighty" wound he still did not get home.

A few months before his death, some weeks went by without a word being heard from him at home. It then transpired he had been one of a party of snipers sent our on a dangerous errand, and George was the only one to return. For seven days and nights he was up a tree not daring to move and having no food beyond the little he carried in his haversack. Few of his comrades imagined he would manage to escape from a position which the enemy had under the closest observation.

It was naturally a great relief to his parents when the news came through that he was safe and sound, and preparations were made for his first home-coming on leave when news arrived that he had fallen in action.