Bertram Howard Anthony Apsey

Memorial: Downend - Christ Church

Regiment: Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry

Medals: 1914 Star and Clasp, British War Medal, Next of Kin Memorial Plaque 1914 - 1921, Victory Medal

Rank and number: Sarjeant 9524

Parents: Joseph and Kate Maria (nee Townsend) Apsey

Marital status: Single

Home address: Home Address: 28 Kensington Road, Staple Hill, Bristol Lived: (1901 Census) – 56 Hawthorn Nest, Totterdown, Bristol

Pre-war occupation: Club Waiter at the University and Litery Club, Berkley Square, Bristol (1911 Census)

Date of birth: 1895

Place of birth: Knowle, Bristol

Date of death: 15/10/1915

Buried/Commemorated at: Buried at Quarry Cemetery, Vermelles, France

Age: 20

Further information:

Bertram was born in Knowle, Bristol and was the youngest of 2 children with an older sister Dorothy. Bertram's father worked as an engineer at the Bristol Fire Clay ceramic company.

Bertram served with the 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, his Battalion were mobilised for war on 14th August 1914 and landed at Boulogne to engage in various actions on the Western Front. Bertram fought in the First Battle of Ypres in November 1914, during which he was mentioned in despatches by Sir John French. He was wounded on 1st December 1914 and awarded a wound stripe.

Bertram lost his life in October 1915 during a British attack on Hohenzollern Redoubt at Auchy-les-Mines in France. The attack resulted in a mass slaughter of infantry with 3,643 casualties (most in the first few minutes) and no resulting strategic benefit.

Later during the conflict, the cemetery where Bertram was buried was badly damaged by shellfire and individual graves could no longer be identified. As a result, the headstones were all marked with "Buried near this spot".

Bertram was Mentioned in Despatches – announced in the London Gazette on 16/10/1914.

Note: The family address on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission records is shown as "Hill Tops", Birchwood Rd., St. Anne's Park, Bristol. However, the pension record card notes the Staple Hill address. The pension record cards generelly pre-date the information on the CWGC records.

Bertram Apsey is commemorated on the Downend Christ Church Memorial and the Staple Hill Page Park Memorial.

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/
Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Findmypast (Soldiers Died during the Great War, 1901 & 1911 Census etc), Researcher John Davis.