Albert Henry Detmold
Albert Henry Detmold
Private, Canadian Pioneers
Private Albert Detmold (b. 1884 in Hamburg, Germany) and his brother Julius Frederick Detmold (b. 1883) were the sons of Frederick William Detmold, stockbroker, and his wife Nellie Rita (nee Isaacs). They both joined Alleyn's in 1895, with Albert leaving one year after his brother in 1898. In 1901 Albert was living with his parents and siblings at Alleyn Park in Dulwich and he was working as a stockbroker's clerk. Albert and Julius (known as Fred) left Liverpool for Canada in 1902 in search of new opportunities and employment. Albert settled in Manitoba, working as a farmer.
In 1916 Albert joined the
war effort after the announcement that an independent Canadian Expeditionary Force would be raised. He joined
the Canadian Pioneers 107th Overseas Battalion, who were responsible for maintaining lines of
communication at the Front and for undertaking basic combat engineering tasks. Albert served overseas with the Pioneers on the Western
Front and saw service in France in 1917. In August, he was involved in the
Battle of Hill 70 which intended to inflict the German troops with a number of
casualties and draw them away from a larger offensive taking place at Ypres.
The attack was a success but came at a high cost of casualties for the Canadian
forces. Unfortunately, Albert died on the first day of battle on August 15th
1917. He is commemorated on the Vimy Memorial.
Artefacts recovered with Private Detmold's body, including unit identifiers, a pickaxe, a gas mask, coins, and his boots. Image provided by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, via the Canadian Department of National Defence.
Albert lay where he fell for over a century, until his body was found in July 2020 at Loos-en-Gohelle in France during a construction project. It took another 5 years for his body to be identified, but his burial service will take place in July 2026 in the British cemetery at Loos-en-Gohelle.
The WW1 service histories of other Detmold relatives of Albert have also been traced. He had another brother who did not attend Alleyn's. Godfrey William Detmold enlisted with the Royal Flying Corps. Albert's cousin, Philip Walter Detmold, who attended Latymer Upper School in London also served with a Canadian regiment, the 27th Battalion (Manitoba Regiment). Philip was killed on 18 April 1917, aged 23 and is buried at Boulogne Eastern Cemetery (Grave IV.C.7).
All of these Detmold family members were also cousins of the celebrated twin artists Maurice and Edward Detmold who provided the iconic illustrations for the 1903 edition of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book.
With thanks to the Canadian Department of National Defence for some of this information.