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Charles Edward William Proctor and brothers – Proctor

Army, Commemorated name/s, Other Regiments, Royal Berkshire Regiment

Charles Edward William Proctor
Private 10260 1st Battalion Royal Berkshire Regiment

 Division 76
Extension

Proctor CEW and bros photo
Proctor CEW Rcem com

 

Charles Edward William Proctor was the eldest son of Mr William Davis Proctor and Mrs Minnie Proctor, of 17, Tudor Road, Reading.  He is remembered on the family grave number 16452.  Berkshire Family History Society classification 76B5. 

The headstone refers to Charles being ‘Killed in Action in France’, but gives only the years of his life, 1882 -1918.  The author has located two sets of photographs relating to the family so it is known that he was one of five brothers who served during the war.  It is unclear from the captions which brother is which.  Ancestry UK indicates that the family tree for this family has been researched and that all the other brothers survived the war.

PROCTOR BROS CEM

The Reading Standard September 22nd 1917 reported that two of the Proctor brothers had been wounded.  Later it was revealed by the same shell.  Corporal F (possibly Frederick) Proctor was evacuated to Eastbourne.  He had served three years in France and had also been awarded the Military Medal.  His brother Sapper W (possibly Walter) Proctor suffered shrapnel in the hand and was in convalescent camp in France.

 A search of the CWGC website has not revealed any information to further establish the service details, time or place of death of Charles E.W. Proctor during 1918.  However, photograph captions refer to both Royal Berkshire Regiments and Royal Engineers.  A CWGC search revealed that a C.E.W. Proctor of the 1st Royal Berkshire Regiment was killed on the 24th June 1916.  No family details are given.  However, a report in the local paper stated that Charles Edward William Proctor was killed on June 25th 1916, by a shell whilst on sentry duty.  They are believed to be one and the same person. 

 Charles Proctor was buried in Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery, Souchez, Pas de Calais.  Location I.A.21.  It was from this cemetery, on 25th May 2000, that the remains of an unknown Canadian soldier were exhumed, to be placed in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the foot of the National War Memorial in Ottawa.

Edwin James Prior

Alfred Sutton School War Memorial, Army, Other Regiments, Passchendaele

Edwin James Prior
Private 41177
9th Battalion Norfolk Regiment

Prior EJE photo

Edwin James Prior died 15th April 1918 aged 19 years.  He has no known grave and his name is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing panels 34 to 35 and 162A.

Edwin Prior was the brother of Arthur James Prior of 65, Foxhill Road, Reading.  Information on the caption of a photograph printed in Berkshire and the War, gives details of him belonging to the South Staffordshire Regiment and attached to the Lincoln Regiment.  An address of 10, High Street, Belston, Staffordshire is given.  The caption goes  on to state that he was twice wounded and was late of Caversham.

More details about the German Spring Offensive around Ypres have been given in the biography of Reginald Newport.   Edwin Prior, although in a different regiment would have experienced similar difficulties.  By 11th April Armentieres had been evacuated by the British and Haig issued this famous speech to his men “…..Every position must be held to the last man: there must be no retirement.  With our backs to the wall….each one of us must fight to the end.”

On the 15th April, the day that Edwin Prior died, the bloodily won ridge of Passchendaele was evacuated and the British divisions withdrew to a line around Ypres which approximated to that of 1915.  The British were below full complement and the new men, replacing those lost in Third Ypres, were young and incompletely trained, although they fought bravely. (Martin Matrix Evans – Passchendaele)  The different details about regimental information for Edwin Prior may be due to the fact that he was taken into different units to make up the numbers at various times.

Thomas Porter

Army, Commemorated name/s, Other Regiments

Thomas Porter
Sergeant  M2/046569
15th Div. Train, Army Service Corps

 Division 7

Porter T photo

Sergeant Thomas Porter is remembered on the grave of his parents Henry and Rosanna Porter who died in 1922 and 1948 respectively.  The commemoration states ‘Died of Wounds in France’.  The Berkshire Family History Society classification number is 7A15.  There are no family details in the CWGC information.  A picture from Berkshire and the War gives the home address as 36 Sherman Road, Reading.

The 1911 census indicates that Thomas and his wife Blanche and son Denis then aged 1 year were living with his parents at 4 Sherman Road.  Thomas was a furniture porter his father worked at the biscuit factory.

 Thomas Porter died of wounds on 18th July 1917, aged 26.  He is buried in Boulogne Eastern Cemetery, Pas de Calais.  Grave reference IV.A.35.

Boulogne was one of the three Base ports most used by the British Armies during the war.  Boulogne and Wimereux formed one of the chief hospital areas.  Thomas Porter was probably wounded some distance away from Boulogne.