Isaac was the son of Mrs. Sarah Darby, of No. 14, Dunn St. and husband of Mrs Harriet Darby, of No. 21, George St., Dudley, A pre-war Regular, he had completed nearly 13 years service according to a contemporary newspaper report, having gone to the Boer War aged only 16. Much of this time was spent on Imperial duty in India; the 1911 Census finds him serving with his battalion in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

He was with the 2nd Bn when they landed in France on 12th August 1914. He was killed in action in the Battle of Le Transloy on 5th November 1916, aged 31, and his name appears on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing.

The Dudley Herald quoted a letter to his widow from 2nd Lt Edmonds stating that he had reached the German first line trenches with his platoon, but then had been badly wounded in the thigh. He was bandaged up, placed in a shell hole and made as comfortable as possible.

Capt. H. Fitzm. Stacke’s “History of the Worcestershire Regiment in the Great War” in its coverage of the 2nd Battalion’s part in this action contains the following paragraphs which continue the story of Sgt Darby and describe his fate:

“The attack was met by a storm of fire. A barrage of heavy shells crashed down along the sunken lane, and through the shell-bursts could be heard the stammer of machine-guns. Led by a few brave N.C.O's., 'D' Company advanced through the barrage across the sunken road and up the slope. Close behind followed the other three companies. As he reached the sunken road, Lieut. E. P. Bennett, commanding 'C' Company was struck down by a shell-burst. He collapsed half-stunned into the lane, where his wounds were bandaged by a kindly Frenchman. Dazed by the shock, he watched the two rear companies pass forward through the fire. Beside him in the sunken lane he found other wounded men; among them a Sergeant (believed to have been Sergt. Isaac Darby [8408]) and a little 2nd Lieutenant (2/Lieut. Jack Oswald Couldridge). Together they peered forward through the smoke of the German barrage. For a moment the smoke drifted aside, and they could see the situation in front. The attack had stopped. The last few N.C.O's. of 'D' Company had been hit, two German machine-guns from the right flank had raked the line, and the young soldiers, brave enough but utterly bewildered, had halted and lain down. The other companies had closed up to them and had likewise stopped. All four companies were crowded in the open under a fierce fire. The little group in the trench were horror-struck. "God !" cried the little 2nd Lieutenant "Are we going to fail again?" The wounded Sergeant grasped the situation and tore at the steep bank to make a step. "The boys will go on all right if there's someone to lead them" he said: he clambered up and dashed forward into the fire. Twenty yards from the trench he was struck and fell”.

Although successful, the attack had cost the 2nd Worcesters 200 men. He is remembered on the walls of Dudley's civic war memorial in Priory St.

Note: This story is based on his entry in the book “Dudley’s 1914-1918 War Memorial and the Men commemorated – 2nd Revised & Expanded Edition” by J. B. E. Hale.