Memorial : Olveston. Regiment : Somerset Light Infantry. Further information : There were several Dyer families in Alveston, Olveston and Aust parishes in the last half of the nineteenth century and at least two families of this name lived in Old Down.
John Dyer, a quarryman at Old Down, married Mary Smith from Alveston and they had eight children, Arthur was their fifth and final son. His eldest brother, George, also worked in the quarry but it is not known what Thomas, Percy, Gilbert and Arthur did after leaving school.
On November 7th George E. Also serving in the army were George H. The Battalion then embarked for France and was quickly involved in the fighting at Loos during the latter part of September At the Battle of Fricourt in July the Battalion suffered heavy losses but was seldom out of the line for more than a few days at a time.
April the 9th was the opening day in the period of the war that was known as the Battle of Arras, which saw the introduction of the Bristol Fighter F2B into front line service. The 8th Battalion, under the command of Lt.
On that opening day, in concert with the 8th Lincolnshire and supported by the Machine Gun Corps, the Battalion was ordered to advance and occupy Orange Hill which lay about yards east of the German trench system running due south from Feuchy. The troops set out at sunset and by Arthur Dyer was Killed in Action that first day and his name is commemorated on the Arras Memorial with 35, others.
