While the slaughter of the Western Front defined the First World War, the military machinery extended deep into the British Home Front. Reserve and training units, such as the 3rd/1st Battalion of the Monmouthshire Regiment, were essential to maintain the continuous flow of manpower to the front lines. These battalions trained raw recruits and absorbed battle-hardened veterans returning home to recover or serve as instructors.
However, military duty at home was fraught with its own perils, from live-fire training accidents to sweeping outbreaks of disease. For the families of those who died in Great Britain, there was a bitter solace: unlike those lost overseas, whose repatriation was strictly forbidden, these men could be brought back by train to the Welsh valleys for a local burial.
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For 23-year-old Rifleman Albert Young, the Home Front brought an unexpected end. Having survived the bitter campaigns of France in 1915, the Oakdale coal miner returned to serve with the reserve battalion. However, he was tragically killed in a duty accident on 31 March 1916. This allowed his family to lay him to rest locally at Jerusalem Chapelyard, Woodfieldside.