Name
Alfred Head
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Machin Gun Corps
5th Bn.
220th Coy.
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
Headstone Inscription
Not Researched
UK & Other Memorials
Pirton School Memorial
Biography
Alfred appears on the School War Memorial, confirming that he attended the school. Parish records suggest only one man of this name who could have served, and he was baptised on November 17th 1887, the son of David and Elizabeth Head. In all it would appear that three brothers served and survived - refer to Albert Head for more family details.
Alfred married Lydia Titmuss on February 11th 1911 and, by the time he enlisted, they had three children: William George (b 1911), Frederick Arthur (b 1913) and Leonard David (b 1915). On December 12th 1915, at the age of twenty-eight years and eleven months, he went to Hitchin and enlisted in the Bedfordshire Regiment. At the time, he was working as a labourer and his home address was Holwell Road - probably one of the terraced cottages also known as the ‘Twelve Apostles’.
On August 1st 1916, Alfred was ‘Called to Colours’ and was first posted to the Bedfords, then, in November, to the Machine Gun Corps, 5th Battalion and to the 220th Company on December 16th 1916. They went to France on March 17th 1917 and then Italy on November 19th 1917. He was given UK leave and left his Regiment on August 22nd 1918, rejoining them in Italy on September 18th. The remainder of the war was spent there and he finally left for the UK in March 1919 with the Cadre(*1) of the Battalion. He was not demobilised straight away, but was stationed at Dreghorn Camp, Edinburgh, until finally demobilised on September 9th 1919.
Alfred and his wife Lydia seem to have spent the rest of their lives in Pirton as they are buried in St. Mary’s churchyard. Lydia died in 1969 and Alfred in 1976.
*1 A small military unit capable of expanding.
Acknowledgments
Text from the book ‘The Pride of Pirton’ by Jonty Wild, Tony French & Chris Ryan used with author's permission.
