Source: Michael Doyle Their Name Liveth For Evermore: The Great War Roll of Honour for Leicestershire and Rutland.
He was the son of James Andrew Ashton a Boot Maker, born 1878 in Birmingham, Warwickshire and his wife Alice a Hosiery Hand Sinker, born 1878 in Birmingham, Warwickshire. Albert was born in 1899 in Hinckley, Leicestershire, his siblings were Grace, born 1902, Thomas, born 1905, Alfred, born 1906 and Frederick, born 1910, all his siblings were born in Hinckley, Leicestershire. In April 1911 the family home was at Hollands Yard, Dog and Gun Yard, Hinckley, Leicestershire. The War Diary for today records. ERVILLERS. Quiet day. 3.00 to 4.00pm ERVILLERS shelled. 6.30pm. Relief came in. 9.00pm. Bombing and shelling started. 10.00pm. Hostile attack developed on our left forcing back SUFFOLK REGT and MIDDLESEX REGT. Germans broke through and lined MORY - ERVILLERS ROAD enfilading the whole of our line. Battalion HQ formed up facing road and A Company counter attacked. German machine gun fire so heavy that A Company could make little progress owing to heavy casualties. They eventually formed a line facing MORY - ERVILLERS ROAD. Held the German attack up from there. During their attack Corporal HILL and 2 men rushed a German machine gun killing an officer and bayoneting 5 men. 11.30 to 12.00pm. A Company held its line, but all attempts to reinforce and send up small arms ammunition failed owing to very heavy machine gun fire.

Source: Leicestershire War Memorials Project.
Photograph courtesy of A. Garford 2020