Private Harold L. Brimecombe, of The Hood Battalion, Royal Naval Division, was killed in action near Beaucourtsur-Ancre on November 14th 1916. He was buried in a trench No. 3 and No. 44 grave, which is situated in a ravine near Beaucourt. This is where his body lies, but the happy spirit of this Exeter lad of nineteen has gone to be with Christ.
The testimony of a petty officer in the Hoods’ Battalion, who came to see the sorrowing parents at Christmas, was:— “He resisted all temptations. He was never known to fail to go on his knees in every circumstance, and whoever was around him. I shall never forget one night. We came to a village and encamped. Brimecombe went on his knees before us all. Many mocked and ridiculed. At last one of his own company came along and said, I defy you to touch that lad. He is our lad, and he always says his prayers, and we never knew him fail. Always before going into action he prayed.
“If any of the men could have laid down their lives for him in the charge they would have done so, they did try to protect him. He never complained about the hardships, although he was delicate. He saw that all in the camp had a Testament. The Testaments were sent to him by doctor Heyman Wreford.
He wrote to me and said, I do not know what I should do without Christ. His Commanding Officer said of him: “He was always a willing worker, and never once got into trouble.”