Alfred George Dobbs
Alfred George Dobbs was born 3 February 1914, at 3 Union Road Hitchin Hertfordshire. His parents George Laben Dobbs and mother Gertrude Augusta Dobbs née Adams were married in the spring of 1913. Alfred was the firstborn of three children; his sister Joan was born 1916, and later, his younger brother Joseph Charles was born in December 1919 . Their father George Laben Dobbs served in the Somerset Light Infantry from May 1916 and was deployed to France 1918 for the Second Battle of the Somme and Cambrai before returning home in 1919 to continue working as a Cinema Bill Poster. Sadly George Laben Dobbs passed away at the young age of 43 in 1933, when Alfred was 19 years old.
By summer of 1939, at the age of 25 Alfred was married to Hilda Marjory Parlour, Hilda was born 10 October 1915 into a large family in Leyton, Essex, consisting of seven sisters and one brother. Her father was a fitter for an agriculture engineer and frequently travelled to the United States for his work. Although born in Leyton, Hilda’s family had moved to Letchworth by 1921.
The 1939 register records Alfred and Hilda lived at 8 Weston Crescent Baldock, Hertfordshire. Alfred worked as a hot water fitter and plumber, while Hilda was employed as a linker in silk hosiery manufacturing. Notably, the Baldock and Letchworth area was home to silk hosiery manufacturers who shifted their production from their usual silk garments to the manufacturing of parachutes during the Second World War. One such factory in Baldock even secretly produced components for the Bombe decoding machines. While the specific factory where Hilda worked remains unclear, it’s likely she played a role in either the production of parachutes or these vital decoding machine components.
Alfred’s younger brother Joseph Charles Dobbs served as a private in the Royal Army Ordnance Corp in the Italy campaign, he returned from the war and lived in Hitchin until his death in 1999.
Tragically Alfred George Dobbs, service number 14346844, served as a Gunner in the 324 Battery 94th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment of the Royal Artillery. He was killed in action on 22 July 1944 at the age of 30.
The war diary of Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel E.I.E. Strong reads that on July 22 in Cuverville, 10 km East of Caen, his unit was attacked by 12 fighters. Though the guns of 324 Battery managed to disperse the attack, destroying one of the aircraft, a direct hit struck the Wireless/Telegraphy vehicle of E troop, tragically killing Lieutenant Carter and two driver/ operatives. Lieutenant Carter is also remembered on this memorial.
Gunner Alfred George Dobbs is buried in Ranville War Cemetery, Ranville, France. His inscription reads ;
“Greater love hath no man than this”.