CWGC thanks the Thiepval Database Project for this story. It summarises information held at the Thiepval Visitor Centre.
Herbert was one of the five children of Henry (an agricultural labourer) and Agnes Emma Secker, of Gallants Lane, East Harling, Norfolk.
There were also two half-brothers from Henry’s first marriage to Emma Jane Osborne. He enlisted at Norwich, Norfolk.
Herbert died on 12th October 1916, aged 22, during an attack on Gird and Bite Trenches north west of Flers. Gird Trench, also known as the Gallwitz Riegel, was a major German defensive trench system on the Western Front located behind the Butte de Warlencourt near Gueudecourt. It was a fortified line consisting of two parallel trenches, the Gird front line and Gird Support, and was a key strongpoint defended by machine guns, barbed wire, and elaborate dugouts built into the Butte. Capturing Gird Trench was a frequent objective for Allied forces including the Battle of Le Transloy, but it was exceptionally difficult to take and hold.
Private 29053 Herbert Secker, A’ Company, 2nd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment has no known grave and is commemorated on Pier and Face 2C of the Thiepval memorial in France.
He is also commemorated on the East Harling War Memorial.
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