Memorial scroll L.Cpl Wareham, 1st Bn Dorset Regiment K.I.A 1/7/16.

Memorial scroll to one of military histories darkest days, amazing survivor with a  few bits of age wear. Luckily WAREHAMS military records survive and tell the following story.
∙ Regiment: 1st Battalion, Dorset Regiment
∙ Regimental Number: 8458
∙ Rank: Private (later L/Cpl)
∙ Enlisted: 14 March 1908
∙ Terms of Service: 7 years with the Colours and 5 years Reserve (the “7 and 5” notation)
∙ Service reckons from: 14 March 1908
∙ Appointed Lance Corporal: 14 June 1915
Chronological military career
Pre-war and early war
∙ 14 March 1908: Enlisted into the Dorset Regiment
∙ 14 August 1914: Embarked with the British Expeditionary Force (the “Bn” notation and date fit the 1st Dorsets sailing for France in mid-August 1914 as part of 15th Brigade, 5th Division)
1914 to 1915: Wounds and hospitalisations in France
∙ 19 April 1915: Admitted, gunshot wound right arm, in the field
∙ 4 May 1915: Admitted, gunshot wound right forearm, Rouen
∙ 5 May 1915: Admitted, gunshot wound right forearm, Rouen (transfer between facilities)
∙ (date unclear) May 1915: Discharged from hospital, Rouen
∙ 6 May 1915: Joined Base Depot, Rouen
∙ 15 April 1915: Rejoined 1st Battalion in the field (the stamp “JOINED 1ST. BATTN. IN THE FIELD 15 APR 1915” appears prominently, though the chronology here is slightly muddled by the way casualty forms record events out of order)
∙ 14 June 1915: Appointed Lance Corporal
1916: Return through the casualty chain
∙ 9 January 1916: Admitted 92nd Field Ambulance, NYD (Not Yet Diagnosed) fever, in the field
∙ 10 January 1916: Transferred to 33rd Divisional Rest Station, in the field
∙ 12 January 1916: Transferred 92nd Field Ambulance to 1st South Midland Casualty Clearing Station, Amiens
∙ 14 January 1916: Admitted 11th Stationary Hospital, bronchitis, Rouen
∙ 28 January 1916: Transferred to England (likely on hospital ship)
Return to France and final actions
∙ 22 March 1916: Embarked Southampton, draft reinforcement
∙ 29 March 1916: Joined 8th Entrenching Battalion, in the field
∙ 30 March 1916: (further entry, transfer)
∙ 16 May 1916: Rejoined 1st Battalion in the field
∙ 1 June 1916: Appointed Lance Corporal (paid) — this appears to be confirmation of the paid appointment
∙ 16 June 1916: Further entry regarding rejoining battalion
The Somme
∙ 1 July 1916: Reported missing, in the field
∙ 1 July 1916: Subsequently confirmed killed in action
∙ 13 July 1916: Reported buried in the neighbourhood of Authuille Wood
Context for 1 July 1916
The 1st Dorsets were part of 14th Brigade, 32nd Division on the first day of the Somme. They attacked from the Thiepval area near Authuille Wood toward the Leipzig Salient and the village of Thiepval itself. The battalion suffered catastrophic losses that morning, which matches the burial location entry of Authuille Wood.
∙ 1 July 1916: Reported missing, then confirmed killed in action, in the field
∙ 13 July 1916: Reported buried in the neighbourhood of Authuille Wood
∙ Body subsequently recovered and reinterred at Blighty Valley Cemetery, Authuille, Somme
Additional biographical context from CWGC and local memorial records
∙ Born and resided in Child Okeford, Dorset
∙ Pre-war regular soldier, enlisted in Blandford (consistent with the 14 March 1908 enlistment date on his Casualty Form)
∙ Aged 26 at death
∙ Son of Henry and Sarah Ann Wareham, of Child Okeford, Blandford, Dorset
∙ Commemorated on the Child Okeford and Hanford war memorial
Note on Blighty Valley Cemetery
It was begun in early July 1916 at the start of the Battle of the Somme, contained only 212 graves at the Armistice, and was then greatly enlarged when 784 graves were brought in from the battlefields and small cemeteries to the east, most of which were of men who died on 1 July 1916. So Charles was almost certainly first buried near where he fell in the Authuille Wood area (matching the 13 July 1916 entry on his Casualty Form), then concentrated into Blighty Valley after the war when battlefield clearance teams brought in scattered graves.
The fact that his body was recovered and identified, rather than him being commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing, is itself notable, since so many of the 1st July 1916 dead were never found or identified.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​