Name
Frederick William Breeze
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
31/07/1917
36
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Corporal
265047
Hertfordshire Regiment
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
British War and Victory medals
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
YPRES (MENIN GATE) MEMORIAL
Panel 54 and 56.
Belgium
Headstone Inscription
Not Researched
UK & Other Memorials
Hoddesdon and Rye Park Town Memorial, Hoddesdon,
St Catherine and St Paul’s Church Memorial, Hoddesdon,
St Cuthbert's Rye Park Church Memorial, Rye Park,
Not on the Stanstead Abbotts memorials,
Hertfordshire Regimental Memorial, All Saints Church, Hertford
Pre War
Born in 1881, in Stanstead Abbotts, to parents William and Mary Ann, he had one brother and five sisters including May Ethel Breeze.
In 1891 they were living in Burford Place, Hoddesdon and by 1901 had moved to Amwell Street, Hoddesdon.
The 1911 census shows them living in Salisbury Road, Rye Park, Hoddesdon, his father was a house painter and Frederick was a nurseryman. Later living in 51 Burford Street, Hoddesdon.
Frederick joined the 1st Hertfordshire Battalion of the Territorials on 7th April 1908 for 4 years when aged 26, his service number was 871, he re-engaged on 16th November 1911 when he was 30.
At the Territorial camp in the summer of 1914 the entire battalion were ‘embodied’ for war service and they were moved to Bury St Edmunds for training.
Wartime Service
On 5th October 1914 he was promoted to Lance Corporal.
He embarked at Southampton on 5 Nov 1914 but was admitted to Hospital at Rouen on 21 Nov 1915 with TB and returned to England on 14 Feb 1916. He re-embarked at Folkestone on 30 Jul 1916 and joined his battalion in the field on 15 Aug 1916.
He was promoted to Corporal on 30 Sep 1916. He was admitted to hospital with trench fever on 7 Dec 1916 but returned to the front on 26 Feb 1917
The Hertfords had been involved in the Somme campaign and on 14th October together with two other battalions the Hertfordshire’s captured the Schwaben Redoubt, a German strongpoint. On 13th November 1916 at the Battle of the Ancre they achieved a notable success, when, with their advance covered by mist and a heavy artillery barrage they captured the whole of the enemy Hansa line. They advanced 1600 yards and captured over 250 prisoners, they achieved all their objectives and held the captured position until relieved the following night. They spent the first part of 1917 holding the line near Ypres, in July they began training for their next big action, the Third battle of Ypres. On 31st July they advanced towards German positions on Pilkem Ridge, the Battalion suffered heavy casualties from machine gun fire, when they reached the enemy lines, they found the wire almost untouched by the heavy artillery bombardment, and were forced to retire under heavy shelling and German counter attacks. Every officer in the battalion was a casualty along with 459 other ranks, one of whom was Frederick.
Acknowledgments
Malcolm Lennox, Terry Collins, Chris Wallis, Jonty Wild
