Alfred George Spencer
Memorial: Pilning
Regiment: Worcestershire Regiment
Medals: British War Medal, Next of Kin Memorial Plaque 1914 - 1921, Victory Medal
Rank and number: Private 40250
Parents: William and Harriet Spencer
Marital status: Single
Home address: New Passage, Pilning, Bristol
Date of birth: 1897
Place of birth: Pilning, Bristol
Date of death: 02/11/1916
Buried/Commemorated at: Thiepval Memorial (Pier and Face 5A and 6C.), France
Age: 19
Further information:
Alfred was the only child of William and Harriet Spencer, he was born in the Pilning area of Almondsbury in 1897. In the 1901 census William is recorded as a ‘Milk Seller and Gardener’. The family lived in New Passage, William (30) born in Sodbury and Harriet (26) born in Pilning with Alfred (4)
Alfred enlisted as No. 40250 in the 2nd Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment. Alfred Spencer died, aged just 19 years, in November 1916, there is no known grave – his body lost in the mud - his name is recorded among 73,412 men who died in 1916-17, on the colossal Memorial to the Missing, at Thiepval in France. This Memorial is dedicated to both British and French soldiers and dominates the area for a considerable distance
The German forces had several fortresses around Thiepval, in the Somme area of France, these strongholds with extensive underground tunnels enabled the Germans to wreak devastation among the attacking British and French troops. Terrible losses were suffered on both sides, and by the end of 1916 the village of Thiepval was totally destroyed
William Spencer died in 1941 aged 72, his wife Harriet died in 1952, aged 76, they are both buried in Pilning Cemetery and their son is remembered with them on the headstone "Also their son Alfred George was killed in the Great War, November 21st 1916, aged 19"
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
Publication: Village Heroes. Pilning and Severn Beach History Group. Nancy Vowles and Val George researched and put together the information
Forces War Records and CWGC