Arthur Robert Howland was born in Thame in 1897. His parents, William Watts Howland and Annie Edden (née Orpen) had recently returned to live in Thame after several years in Wollongong, Australia. His father was a successful local builder and in 1911 they were living at 23 Queens Road*.

Arthur was the youngest of five brothers, Henry, William, Frederick and Leslie, all of whom served in the war and survived. Arthur joined the Oxford and Bucks Territorials in 1913 (Regt No 1859), and probably due to his age at the time being only 16 he was given the position of bugler.

When war broke out, he was posted to the 2/4th Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry and embarked with them for France in May 1916.

In July the Battalion, with the 184th Brigade, 61st Division, was in the trenches and part of the force engaged in the diversionary attack at Fromelles during the Battle of the Somme. Arthur was wounded by a sniper whilst helping a wounded comrade. He was one of the many casualties sustained by the Battalion during this unsuccessful attack.

When he recovered from his wounds he returned to the Front with the 6th (Service) Battalion of the Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry. Arthur, age 20, was killed on 20th September 1917.

This was the first day of the Battle of Menin Road Bridge, during the Third Battle of Ypres (more commonly known as
Passshendaele), when 65,000 troops advanced on an eight-mile front, screened by heavy mist and a stupefying bombardment. Although overall deemed to be a successful attack, it was not without heavy losses. The 6th Battalion suffered over 200 casualties killed, wounded or missing.

200228 Bugler Arthur Robert Howland, Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry, is buried in Bard Cottage Cemetery, Ypres. He is remembered in Thame on the War Memorial and on the Memorial Boards of All Saints’ Church and St Mary’s Church.

* Note on address:
The book “Thame Remembers – the fallen” erroneously gives the 1911 address as No. 23 Queens Road, instead of the 1911 census address as “The Beeches”, Queens Road. By 1939, “The Beeches”, still occupied by Arthur’s family, had become No. 26 Queens Road, and following further re-numbering after WW2 this became No. 57 Queens Road.