Name
Frederick Herbert Green
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
15/09/1916
23
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Private
17336
Bedfordshire Regiment
8th Bn.
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
1914 /15 Star, British War and Victory medals
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
THIEPVAL MEMORIAL
Pier and Face 2C.
France
Headstone Inscription
Not Researched
UK & Other Memorials
St James' Church Memorial, Watford Fields, Not on the Croxley Green memorials
Pre War
Born Croxley Green 1892. Son of Frederick Herbert and Harriet (nee Howe) Green; husband of Ethel (nee Melton) Green.
Frederick senior was born at Chandlers Cross and married Harriet on 20 April 1889 at All Saints, Croxley Green. Frederick died 1929 in Watford aged 59, and was buried 12 January in Vicarage Road Cemetery, Watford; Harriet died 1936 in Watford aged 65, and was buried 1 January 1937, also in Vicarage Road Cemetery.
In 1891 they were living in New Road with their first child.
Frederick was born 9 or 20 June 1892 in Croxley Green. He attended first Red Lion Yard Infants’ School, Watford; then Beechen Grove Board School, Watford, from 19 February to 9 October 1901, and again from 2 May 1904 to 26 May 1906
On the 1901 Census, aged 8, Frederick lived at Oakview, Hagden Lane Watford, with his parents and three siblings. On the 1911 Census, a painter’s labourer aged 18, he lived at 74 Brightwell Rd., Watford, with his parents and five siblings. By the 1911 census they recorded that Harriet had borne 8 children of whom 2 had died. The eldest three, including Frederick junior were born in Croxley Green.
The family had moved to Watford in the latter half of the 1890s.
Frederick marriage to Ethel in 1913 in the Watford district. They had two children and resided in Watford.
Ethel remarried on 24 January 1920 at St James’, Watford, to John James Narroway, and died in 1980 in the Watford district aged 88.
Recorded as born Croxley Green and living in Watford (believed more accurately to be Watford Fields) enlisting in Watford.
Wartime Service
Frederick Green enlisted in Watford and joined the BEF in France on 30 December 1915.
He was presumed killed in action during an unsuccessful attack on the Quadrilateral near Morval during the battle of Flers-Courcelette in the Somme offensive. The 8th Bedfordshires were part of the 71st Brigade and the 6th Division.
On 15 Sep 1916 the battalion was ordered to take the Quadrilateral assisted by the Heavy Section of the Machine Gun Corps with tanks. At zero hour (6.20 a.m.) an intense artillery barrage opened and unluckily fell short where three companies of the battalion were drawn up for the attack in shell holes. This mistake caused many casualties. The attacking companies pushed forward and though supported by 1st The Buffs and later reinforced by the 2nd Yorks & Lancaster Regt failed to take the position. The tanks did not arrive to assist and the position had not been heavily shelled previous to the attack.
As the battalion had suffered very severely in casualties, 6 Officers killed and 7 wounded, the battalion was relieved at 6 p.m. and put in brigade reserve S.E. of Guillemont.
He was entitled to the Victory, British War and 1914-15 Star medals,
Additional Information
Unfortunately, Frederick’s Service Record appears to be one that did not survive the World War Two bombing.
Acknowledgments
bedfordshireregiment.org.uk, Brian Thomson, Sue Carter (Research) and Watford Museum (ROH on line via www.ourwatfordhistory.org.uk)
