Name
Harold Frederick Birch
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
11/08/1919
25
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Serjeant
M/417909
Army Service Corps
Base Mechanical Transport Depot
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
British War and Victory medals
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
BASRA WAR CEMETERY
Plot II, Row E, Grave 3.
Iraq
Headstone Inscription
Not Researched
UK & Other Memorials
Watford Borough Roll of Honour,
Bushey Baptist Church Memorial, Bushey
Pre War
Born in Bushey in 1894 (registered in 3rd Quarter in Watford district), Harold Frederick Birch was the son of William and Elizabeth Birch.
His parents married 1892 in the Watford district. William died either 1930 in the Watford district aged 73 or 1939 in the Watford district aged 83; Elizabeth died 1951 in Watford aged 87, and was buried 6 November in Vicarage Road Cemetery, Watford.
Harold was born 16 June 1894 in Watford. He attended first Victoria Infants’ School, Watford; then Beechen Grove Board School, Watford, from 7 January 1901 to 26 March 1902, when he went to Watford Fields School; finally to Watford Grammar School as a Fuller Scholar from 3 August 1906.
He was the second of four children and at the time of the 1901 census, when he was six, the family was living at 50, Wiggenhall Road, Watford. His father was a store keeper. After leaving school, Harold was employed as a railway clerk.
At the 1911 census the family is living at 225 Harwood Road, Watford and at time of his enlistment, Harold gives the address as 89, Harwood Road, Watford, Herts.
Wartime Service
Harold deemed to have enlisted on 2 March 1916, at the age of 22, as Private S/220856 with the Royal Army Service Corps and called up for service 5 December 1916. He was living with jis family ain 89 Harwoods Road, Watford at the time.
He was subsequently promoted to Lance Corporal, then to Corporal and on 25 April 19 to acting Serjeant M/417909 with the Base Mechanical Transport Depot, where he was a technical clerk.
His service record shows that he embarked at Devonport on the Horse Transport Leicestershire on 28 November 1917 disembarking at Basra.
He served with the Indian Expeditionary Force from 1918 to 1919 and on 24 July 1919 became seriously ill with influenza. His record states 'His temperature continued to be 102-104 degrees throughout his illness and he was very restless and gradually became unconscious. He died at 11.10 hours on 11 August 1919 of influenza and from exhaustion, accelerated by great heat of weather’. He was 25. The record also states ‘He died of disease contracted on and attributable to military service’.
His pension record identifies his mother, Elizabeth L Birch, as the dependent with an address of 89, Harwood Road, Watford. This is subsequently crossed through and given as 30 Watford Heath, Oxhey, Watford.
Harold was buried at the Basra War Cemetery.
He is commemorated on the memorial plaque at the Bushey Baptist Church.
Additional Information
Unfortunately, Harold appears to have no entry in the Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919 dataset.
There is a Death announcement for Harold in the West Herts and Watford Observer dated 30 August 1919.
Recorded as Lance-Corporal on the UK Army Registers of Soldiers' Effects dataset.
Service number appears as 417969 in some records.
Acknowledgments
Andrew Palmer
Dianne Payne - www.busheyworldwarone.org.uk, Sue Carter (Research) and Watford Museum (ROH on line via www.ourwatfordhistory.org.uk), Jonty Wild
