(Lewis) Andrew Short
Memorial: Bitton - St Mary's Church
Regiment: Royal Navy
Medals: 1914–15 Star, British War Medal, Next of Kin Memorial Plaque 1914 - 1921, Victory Medal
Rank and number: Petty Officer Stoker 295645
Parents: Andrew and Selina Short
Marital status: Married
Home address: Home Address: Bitton, Bristol. Lived: The Gables, Upton Cheyney
Pre-war occupation: Sailor
Date of birth: 1879
Place of birth: Bitton, Bristol
Date of death: 06/10/1917
Buried/Commemorated at: No known burial site but commemorated on Portsmouth Naval Memorial and Bitton and Upton Cheyney War Memorials
Age: 38
Further information:
Andrew was born in Bitton, the son of a labourer and the second eldest of seven children with two brothers and four sisters. A younger brother Vernon who was in the Army also died in the service of his country two years before Andrew. Andrew enlisted in the Navy in 1900 and at that time was described as 5'4 1/2" tall with brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion. His first ship was Duke of Wellington II. In 1911 Andrew was stationed at Portland Dorset and married Ethel Lily Spare in the October. Their daughter Nancy Ethel was born the following month.
In October, 1917, the H.M.S. Begonia a Naval war sloop, set sail disguised as a merchant vessel and was subsequently reported as missing. It is thought that she was sunk by a U-boat which then failed to return from patrol. Her crew numbered about 100 officers and men including Andrew, and all were lost with no survivors.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
This information has been provided by Sarah Hands, Volunteer Researcher for the South Gloucestershire War Memorials Web Site.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
https://www.cwgc.org/
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/
https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/
https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?135561