PRIVATE PHILIP ERNEST DUNN
12th/13th Northumberland Fusiliers (Army Cyclists Corp)
Born in 1894 in the Forest of Dean
In 1901 the family lived at Lovedee Cottages, Pencoyd
In 1914, Private Dunn enlisted into the Army Cyclists Corps, joining the Northern Cyclist Battalion, which was later to be part of the Northumberland Fusiliers.
Cyclists were used as scouts and reconnaissance, particularly hazardous work
In 1915, he went to Gallipoli with the 11th Northern Division, who fought all the way though the Gallipoli campaign, until withdrawn and moved to France in 1916
On 21st March 2018, Private Dunn was taken prisoner when Battalion Headquarters at Vancallette Farm was overwhelmed
He was sent to Gefengenenlager Gustrow Prisoner of War camp where men were held in pens in a huge tent, sleeping in pens on straw on damp ground with only a thin blanket. The PoWs experienced frequent violence.
Private Dunn died on 27th July 1918, age 24, in Valenciennes in France, having probably been moved there due to illness or injury
He is buried in the Valenciennes (St Roch) Communal Cemetery maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission
He is commemorated on the Sellack War Memorial