Tom Gray Air Mechanic II  33053 Royal Flying Corps	Fred Gray Lance Corporal 19990 1st Royal Berkshire Regt.

Tom  and Fred Gray were the sons of T. and Elizabeth Gray of 31 Zinzan Street, Reading.

Tom Gray is buried in a registered war grave and commemorated on a CWGC war pattern headstone.  Grave number 3686A.  He died of meningitis, at the time referred to as spotted fever on the 15^th March 1917.  Tom Gray was the husband of L. Gray and was aged 33.

Fred Gray is commemorated on his brother grave on a scroll stone.  The inscription states “Killed on Somme”.  Tom is also commemorated on the scroll stone which finished with the words “FOR KING AND COUNTRY”.

Fred was killed by a machine gun whilst taking trenches on November 14^th 1916.  The Battle of Ancre, the 4^th phase of the Somme battle, had begun the day before and Beaumont-Hamel was captured during the offensive.  The Somme Battle finally came to and end on 18 November 1916.

Fred Gray is buried on the Somme in Munich Trench British Cemetery, Beaumont-Hamel, location B.II.

 The small cemetery, which holds about 100 graves, was started in January 1917.  Munich Trench was captured on the 11 January 1917 by  V Corps and the cemetery was originally known as V Corps Cemetery No.8.  The burials of those who took part in the last phase of the Somme battle were carried out in the spring.  Although Fred Gray’s body laid out on the battlefield throughout the winter months the ground was not fought over and this enabled the remains to be identified.  Many casualties of the Somme battles were posted as missing and their bodies never found.   Another Reading man, George E. Thatcher is also buried in Munich Trench British Cemetery and a small stone bearing his initials has been found in the Reading Cemetery.