An original World War One medal pair, comprising British War Medal and Victory Medal, original ribbons. Named as follows;
13606 PTE. W. C. PETTITT. SUFF. R.
Wilfred Pettitt was entitled to a pair. He is noted on CWGC to have been killed in action on 28 April 1917, while serving with C Company of the 11th Battalion. He was the son of Uriah and Florence Pettitt of Horningsea.
The war diary at this time shows the Battalion having moved onto the front line near Fampoux, which is immediately to the east of Arras. At 11pm on the 27th, the Battalion moved into position for an attack scheduled for the morning of the 28th. Wilfred's C Company were on the far left of the line.
At 4.25am an artillery barrage on the enemy trenches began, followed by the men advancing over the top just two minutes later. The attack has stalled by 5am and the unit driven back by machine gun fire from a trench that had been entirely missed by the barrage. What was left of the Battalion tried to consolidate in their old front line, but were counter attacked and driven out of the line at 9.45. The German attack captured part of the front line and part of a communication trench.
There was subsequently a British barrage on their own frontline trenches to drive the German's out and by midnight, the 11th Suffolks were able to re-occupy their own frontline.
The Battalion was decimated by this attack, comprising 627 men and Officers on the 27th April and 332 men and Officers by the 30th. Somewhere within the melee Wilfred fell and his body was not recovered.
He has no known grave and is commemmorated on the Arras Memorial.