Born in Sharrington on 13^th November 1895 to Arthur Neal and his wife Louisa Alice (nee Bambridge). Baptised, nearly a year later in Sharrington on 16^th August 1896, along with two of his siblings. One of five children – Ethel May (born 1891), Hubert William (1892-1959), Archibald Henry (born 1894), and Nellie Victoria (1897-1898).

[Although the 1911 census states the couple had 5 children with one dying it seems strange that a Herbert Louis Neal (1896-1899) was christened the same day as other Neal offspring. Did the enumerator make a mistake?]

At the time of the 1911 census Jesse and his older brother Archie were both working on farms. Their father was working on ‘his own account’ as a hawker. After the outbreak of war Jesse enlisted in Norwich, on 1^st September 1914, for the Special Reservists. This was supposedly for three years, the special reservists being used to fill vacancies in the 1^st and 2^nd Battalions of the Norfolk Regiment. As they were also replacing casualties until deemed fit for service the likely hood of Jesse not seeing action were zero!

Special Reservists (SR) would normally have enlisted for 6 years and had to accept the possibility of being called up in the event of a general mobilisation and otherwise undertake all the same conditions as men of the Army Reserve. Their period as a Special Reservist started with six months full-time training (paid the same as a regular) and they had 3-4 weeks training per year thereafter.

All regiments had at least one unit dedicated to the administration and training of the Special Reservists. For example in most infantry regiments it was the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion. In all there were 101 reserve battalions in existence in August 1914. Their job was to provide reinforcement drafts for the active service battalions. Staffed by regular soldiers, each SR Battalion had a complement of 8 officers, 1 RSM, 38 NCOs, 10 Drummers and 40 Privates of the regular army, and the official establishment when all reservists were on duty was a little over 600 so smaller than a full-scale serving battalion.

The SR men were mobilised in early August 1914 and represented a large proportion of the original Divisions of the British Expeditionary Force that went to France that month.

On July 1^st 1916 thirteen divisions of Commonwealth forces launched an attack along a line from Gommecourt to Maricourt. Despite preparation and constant bombardment German defences were hardly touched. Losses were catastrophic and this first attack was a terrible failure. Again huge resources of men and equipment were prepared and again launched attacks on the German army but each small gain was a major battle for the Commonwealth forces. Eventually, at the end of September, Thiepval was captured, the objective of the launched attacks in July. The Commonwealth forces continued their attacks through to 18^th November in increasingly difficult weather conditions which were to halt the onslaught.

An online account of the battles states that at dawn on 4^th September there was wind and showers. The 5th Division were prepared to attack the German second position, from Point 48 to Wedge Wood and Valley Trench to the north. Two battalions from the 16th Division were attached to the 5th Division and one to the 20th Division. The 15th Brigade prepared to attack Falfemont Farm again, having gained touch with French troops overnight, who did not attack as arranged at 3:05 p.m., which led to the British being raked by machine-gun fire from Combles ravine. A party reached the farm and was bombed out, as a battalion began to bomb south-east from Wedge Wood and another battalion worked round covered by the spur, part of the farm being captured by 4:00 p.m. A frontal attack at 5:30 p.m. failed and a battalion was detailed to sap forward overnight. Patrols near the Leuze Wood spur prevented German reinforcements from moving forward and more seen advancing from Combles were dispersed by British artillery-fire. In the 95th Brigade area Valley Trench was occupied with one casualty and the edge of Leuze Wood was reached at 7:30 p.m., where the British barrage stopped the advance temporarily, before the wood was entered and consolidated, few German troops being seen

It was on 4^th September 1916 Private 14155 was killed in action aged 21 years. Would he have been in this attack?

He is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, to the missing of the Somme. With no known grave he is named with over 72,000 men of the United Kingdom and South Africa. Over 90% of these men having died between the 1^st July and 18^th November 1916.

Tragically his father Arthur died the following year, being buried in Sharrington church 29^th August 1917 aged 52 years.