Category Archives: Graves

Brian Harold Frearson

Army, Other Regiments, Registered War Grave

Brian Harold Frearson
Pioneer 237853
‘A’ Signal Depot Bedford
Royal Engineers

War Plot
Division 71 &72

The information for Brian Harold Frearson was supplied by John Frearson.

Brian Harold Frearson 1 Brian Harold Frearson 2

Brian Harold Frearson was born on 1st June 1898. 

 His family had always been farmers, and can be traced back to Derbyshire in the 1600s.  The family moved to Lincolnshire in the early 1800s. Brian’s father, Henry John FREARSON was born on a farm in West Barkwith, Lincolnshire in 1853, but because of difficulties finding farms, he moved to Hampshire with two of his brothers sometime between 1871 and 1875, and farmed in Barton Stacey.  Henry married Annie Mary SYMMONDS in June 1880.  She had been born in Appleford in Berkshire in 1858, but her family moved to Hampshire when her father become the tenant of a neighbouring farm.  Henry John was a successful [and prize-winning] sheep farmer. Brian was the youngest of eleven children born to Henry and Annie between 1881 and 1896.  All but one survived into adulthood, so Brian had five brothers and four sisters. By the time of Brian’s birth, the family had moved to Odstone Farm, at Odstone Tything, in Ashbury, a village between Faringdon and Swindon.

 Little is known of Brian’s early years; he probably had a governess at the farm.  By the age of 12 or 13, Brian was attending Swindon College being in “Year 1911”.  The College was originally set up in 1843 by the Great Western Railway Company to provide educational classes for its employees. There is also a stained glass memorial window to him, and the other “old boys” and former college staff at Swindon College who lost their lives in the Great War. This is located in the original building of Swindon College.  

 

Brian Harold Frearson 6 Brian Harold Frearson 5

 

Brian joined up, it appears, at the age of 17 or 18 [the dating of a photograph of him in uniform as 1914 is likely to be an error].  He served from about 1916 – 1918 as a Pioneer in the “A” Signal Depot Bedford, Royal Engineers [Regimental No. 237853] during the First War.   This suggests that he was first sent for recruit training to the Royal Engineers Signal Service Depot at Bedford.  A note in the Swindonian [the Swindon College magazine] in autumn 1916 reads:  

 

“BH Frearson (1911) has been employed as a wireless operator on a transport to India”.

 

 It seems that he was later posted to France or Belgium.  He suffered in a gas attack, and was repatriated to England and sent to the Redlands Hospital in Reading.  He died as a result of the gas on 4 February 1918.  He is buried in Reading Cemetery in “Plot 72”, which is a separate area surrounded by hedges.  There are no longer any marked graves, although photograph taken at the time of the burial shows a separate grave.  The screen-wall memorial now commemorates those buried there.  His inscription reads: –

 

 “237853.  Pioneer B. H. Frearson.  Royal Engineers.  4.2.18    38”. It is assumed “38” was the grave number. 

Brian Harold Frearson 4 Brian Harold Frearson 3

I am greatful to John Frearson for the information he has supplied about his relative and especially for the photographs of the graves in the War Plot. As John says the War Plot is laid to lawn. The photographs of the individual graves and their markers are very interesting. Some of the original markers were moved to the outside of the plot behind the hedge others have disappeared.

 

 

Richard Penford

Arras, Canadian, Registered War Grave, Royal Berkshire Regiment

Richard Penford
Corporal 7495
1st Batt. Royal Berkshire Regt.

Division 34

RPenfold photo RPenfold grave

 

 Corporal Richard Penford was the son of George and Mary Penford. He had emigrated to Canada where he had a wife, Mary, and two children. They lived at 196A, Gowan Avenue, Todmorden, Toronto. He was in the “reserve” and at the onset of WW1 he returned to Britain when “called up”. His CWGC headstone states “Missed by wife and children”. The Standard 12June 1915 reports:

 Penford Military Funeral
Hero of 1st Berks. Charge at Festubert

“previously wounded in the head in March 1915, he had spent a month at the Base. Corporal Penfold on returning to the front fought at Festubert on May 16th, where he received the injury which proved fatal.  He and his comrades had taken one line of German trenches and were taking the second when shrapnel caught him in the groin.  He died at Sheffield Royal Hospital on 3rd June.  Full military honours were accorded at the funeral. His widow and young two children were unable to attend his funeral being in Canada at the time but several other family members were in attendance, there were  beautiful floral tributes.”

 Like most of the Canadians buried in the Reading Cemetery, Corporal Penford, has had his name recorded in the “Books of Remembrance”.  It is to be found in the Addendum to the 1915 B.E.F. entries.

Penfold Remembrance Page

Herbert B Pendlebury

Navy, Registered War Grave

Herbert B. Pendlebury
Petty Officer 239381 Royal Navy
H.M.S. “Victory”

Division 55

PendleburyAB photo

 

Herbert Pendlebury was the son of  Mr Roger and Mrs Mary Anne Pendlebury of 107, Cholmeley Road, Reading and the husband of Ada Mary Pendlebury, of 33, Mill Lane, Reading.  Herbert was born in Devises, Wiltshire although his brothers Albert, Walter and Arthur were all born abroad in Cape Colony and India. The 1891 census indicates that Roger was in the armed services as a Colour Sergeant with the Volunteers, the family were then living in Wiltshire. In 1901 he was a labourer at the biscuit factory. The 1911census indicates that Herbert was serving in the Royal Navy in Asia and China. It is believed that he married in early 1918.

 His is a registered war grave with a CWGC war pattern headstone.  Grave number 12160.  He died 5th March 1919 aged 28. Cause of death is given as dying of disease. Details of his service record are unknown.  George Albert Moxey Pratt also served in the HMS Victory and his details are given on this web site.