Albert Arthur PINE (1894-1917)

2nd Lieutenant Albert Arthur Pine (1894-1917) was a colleague of Cyril Sladden in the 9th Battalion Worcestershire Regiment.

Albert Pine was born on 15th June 1894 in Wandsworth, London, the elder of two children of Albert Pine, a pawnbroker manager, and his wife, Fanny Louisa. He was baptized on 29th July 1894 at St Mark, Battersea. At the time of the 1911 census, he lived with his parents at 37 Devereux Road, Wandsworth; he was by now an only child as his younger sister had died.

During the First World War, Albert Pine joined the Worcestershire Regiment; he was gazetted as 2nd Lieutenant on 11th August 1915.

During the first fortnight of 1917, the 9th Battalion of the Worcesters were involved in preparations for a systematic attack on the Hai Salient in Mesopotamia. The preparations included digging a system of trenches in successive parallel lines, to act as assembly trenches for the proposed attack. The construction was done speedily and included digging in the open at night. Pine was killed on the night of 16th/17th January 1917 whilst acting as subaltern in charge of the work. He was buried in Amara War Cemetery.

Further details about the events in Mesopotamia at this time may be found on the Worcestershire Regiment website.