L-Cpl Philip Herbert Watkins, 200985, 1/5th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment, was killed in action in Palestine on July 20th, 1917. He was aged 27 and married to Maud, living at 14 Highbury Road, Luton.

Capt Armstrong said he had died leading his men, and Lieut W. A. Shaw wrote: "On July 20th we attacked a Turkish position at night time. He was under my command and behaved in a most gallant way. He showed the greatest coolness. On reaching our lines he was hit in the head by a flying fragment of shell."

Pte Percy Thurlow, 200236, 1/5th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment, was the second son of Arthur and Harriet Thurlow, of 216, Wellington Street, Luton, to die on the battlefield.

Percy was killed in action in Palestine on July 20th, 1917. Older brother Frederick William had died of wounds at Gallipoli on August 17th, 1915.

L-Cpl Robert John Cecil Moate, 200634, 1/5th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment, was killed in action in Palestine on July 20th, 1917, and has no known grave. He was aged 20 and the only son of widowed Lizzie Moate, of 23 Union Street, Luton.

Cecil Moate, as he was known, was under age for foreign service when he joined the Bedfords (No 4641) but went to Gallipoli in 1915. There he suffered from dysentery and was in hospital in Malta for six months before being posted to Egypt.

Friday, July 20th, 1917, was a day of double tragedy for widower William Hull, of 34 Buxton Road, Luton. Three weeks later he learned that on that day youngest son Lance-Sgt Charles Hull, 200294, 1/5th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment, had been killed in action in Egypt. And two weeks later still he was informed that eldest son Pte Frederick Hull (200592) was missing - presumed killed in the same battle on the same day, fighting with the same regiment. Two sons lost on one day.

Friday, July 20th, 1917, was a day of double tragedy for widower William Hull, of 34 Buxton Road, Luton. Three weeks later he learned that on that day youngest son Lance-Sgt Charles Hull, 200294, 1/5th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment, had been killed in action in Egypt. And two weeks later still he was informed that eldest son Pte Frederick Hull (200592) was missing - presumed killed in the same battle on the same day, fighting with the same regiment. Two sons lost on one day.

Pte Frederick James Bysouth, 200992, 1/5th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment, was killed in action in Palestine on July 20th, 1917 - a day of particularly high casualties for the regiment. He was aged 32 and married with a wife living at 123 Russell Street, Luton.

Frederick had joined the Bedfords in October 1915 and, after six months training at Halton, set sail for Egypt 15 months before his death.

Pte Thomas Felks, 203179, 1/5th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment, was confirmed killed in action in Palestine on July 20th, 1917, after initially being reported missing. He was aged 33.

He was the unmarried son of John and Mary Felks, of 23 John Street, Luton. He had joined up at the beginning of 1917 and, after a short period of training, was sent to Egypt.

A brief report in the Saturday Telegraph said that before enlistment Tom Felks was employed by fishmongers D. Hammett & Son, of 18-20 Hitchin Road, Luton.

Cpl Bertie Breed, 200662, 1/5th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment, was killed in action in Palestine on July 20th, 1917 - in a battle with a growing casualty list described by the Beds & Herts Saturday Telegraph as almost, if not quite, as severe as that in the struggle on the Gallipoli Peninsular.

Bertie Breed had also fought at Gallipoli and was wounded in the leg in the August 15th, 1915, charge there. The wound meant he was in hospital for three months in Cairo, underwent three operations and became ill with dysentery.

Pte Cecil Harold Blaydon, 200712, 1/5th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment, was killed instantly in a raid on enemy lines on July 20th, 1917. The 21-year-old was buried in a cemetery behind British lines.

He was the second son of Sidney and Mary Lily Blaydon, of The Knapps, Toddington Road, Leagrave, to have died in action. Youngest son Albert Edward died at Gallipoli in August 1915.

Cecil served as a stretcher-bearer with the Bedfords from the outbreak of war. Like his younger brother he had served at Gallipoli.

Veteran soldier Pte Augustus George Baker, 4176, 1/5th Bedfordshire Regiment, died at his home at 23 Collingdon Street, Luton, on July 12th, 1917, suffering from bronchitis, asthma and heart trouble. He was aged 44.

Pte George Pratt, 200870, 1/5th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment, died of wounds at the No 54 Casualty Clearing Station in Palestine on May 13th, 1917.

The son of Sophia (and the late William Pratt), of Pyne Cottages, Chalton, he enlisted in the Beds Regiment two years earlier and gained promotion to corporal (5240). He then sacrificed his stripes on transfer to the 1/5th Battalion and went out to Egypt a year before his death.

Sgt William Day, 200287, 1/5th Bedfordshire Regiment, was killed in action near Gaza in Egypt on April 27th, 1917. He was aged about 31 and left a widow, Clara, and two children living at 196 High Town Road, Luton.

William, an old Territorial, was called up at the outbreak of war and took part in the Gallipoli campaign, including the landing at Suvla Bay. Since seeing service in Egypt he had suffered from dysentery and septic poisoning.

L-Cpl Harry Snoxell, 200561, 1/5th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment, was killed in action in the Second Battle of Gaza, Egypt, on April 19th, 1917. He was aged about 27.

The Luton section of the National Roll of the Great War reveals that Harry volunteered for service in September 1914, and in the following July, after training at Bury St Edmunds, St Albans, Norwich and Bedford, he proceeded overseas. He took part in various operations in Gallipoli, from the landing at Suvla Bay up to the evacuation of the peninsula, from where he was sent to Egypt.