Alfred Charles Bunn from Uppingham lies in a row with two other soldiers from Rutland in the beautiful Sanctuary Wood Cemetery near Ypres. He, Ernest Kirby and Albert Jackson all died within two weeks of each other during the fighting around Ypres and have ended up in graves next to each other. Alfred was an old soldier who had served as a Lance Corporal in the Norfolk Regiment during the Boer War. He was born in Lodden, Norfolk, in 1875. Before re-enlisting, at Luton, at the start of the First World War, he had been employed in Uppingham School's Armoury as a gun cleaner and also worked as a farm labourer. He joined the 5th Battalion Leicestershire Regiment and presumably on account of his experience was soon promoted to Sergeant. Alfred was killed near Ypres in July 1915 when the Germans tunnelled underneath the British lines and exploded a mine. The explosion buried several It buried men, and when Alfred was found, he was dead. Captain Griffiths wrote to his widow, Martha, who he had married in 1904: "Your husband was killed whilst nobly doing his duty in the trench, which was unfortunately blown up by the enemy. Death must have been instantaneous. He is a great loss to the Company and everyone liked him very much. I personally looked upon him as one of my best NCOs; he being always so cool and collected and always willing to do his duty when called upon. He has been buried by his comrades in the Military Cemetery behind the firing line and his grave is carefully marked with a cross." Colonel Jones wrote: "He was an ideal soldier. May it be a consolation to you to bring up your children in the knowledge that their father was a good and noble man, who did not hesitate to come forward when his country was in trouble who came forward gladly and willingly - who says that his country's call was his children's call too. May his action persuade all to follow his example and thus save our homes from the terrors of war. And if your children are permitted while growing up to have a quiet and happy home, they must be taught that it is due to the noble conduct of their father and the great sacrifice he was content to make for them." Martha moved to East Runton in Norfolk after the war. The couple had four children, Alfred, Dorothy, Maurice and Leslie, the youngest just eleven years old when Alfred Snr died..