Claude Thomas Bicker was born in Carlisle, Cumbria in 1895. By the time of the 1911 census Claude, his parents George and Nellie Bicker and his siblings had moved to 22 Cornett Road, Aintree, Liverpool. Claude was the eldest child and had two sisters and a brother. On 11th January 1915 Claude enlisted in the Army and was posted to the 89th Brigade Depot with the Kings Liverpool Regiment (KLR) with the number 24678. He was 20 years old and had previously been employed as a booksellers assistant.
In July 1916, Claude’s battalion left Formby and sailed to France from Folkestone. In a postcard to his mother, he wrote that a Colonel* of the 2nd Battalion “had been killed and the old chaps congregated in his memory and officers spoke about the old days”. Claude also mentioned that he was being posted to the 18th Battalion of the KLR.
By the time of his next letter, having been in France for about a month Claude was transferred to the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment and joined their 8th (Service) Battalion with the number 29979