In 1911, all the Riley children had moved out, and Samuel now aged 23, was an Insurance Agent and a boarder in Stretford, Manchester.
Like a number of WW1 soldiers, no enlistment or war records can be found, this will be due to the National Archives being bombed during WW2 which destroyed a hign number of stored documentation.
The town's strategic position on the road between Aleppo and Baghdad made it a key British target during the Mesopotamian campaign, but the hostile climatic conditions meant that it took two attacks over the course of three months for the town to fall.
The first battle in July 1917 resulted in a British defeat. This was caused by a combination of factors, including extreme heat that caused more casualties than enemy fire, bad weather, faulty British communications, and effective Turkish defence. The lessons learned were utilised in the second battle two months later: the British adopted different tactics and trapped the garrison against the Euphrates, cutting off their lines of escape. It was consequently captured almost in its entirety with large amounts of ammunition and supplies.
For Samuel Riley, there appears to be no resting place and a long way from home. God Bless this Soldier.
Baghdad (North Gate) War Cemetery, Iraq.