Frederick (Fred) William Gunter Hopkins

Memorial: Hallen - Hallen Road

Regiment: York and Lancaster

Medals: 1914–15 Star, British War Medal, Next of Kin Memorial Plaque 1914 - 1921, Silver War Badge, Victory Medal

Rank and number: Private 20590

Parents: Minnie Maria Gunter and Frederick William Hopkins, step-father Charles James Dawe

Marital status: Single

Home address: Worthy Farm, Hallen

Date of birth: 1894

Place of birth: Henbury

Date of death: 29/09/1916

Buried/Commemorated at: Buried at Regina Trench Cemetery, Grandcourt, Somme, France. Commemorated on Hallen Road Memorial

Age: 22

Further information:

Fred was born in Henbury the son and only child of a farmer who died when he was a baby. His mother who was a farmer's daughter married Fred's step-father, also a farmer, when Fred was aged two and gave birth to four more children, two of whom died as babies. Fred then had a younger half-sister and half-brother. Fred's mother died in 1902 when Fred was aged eight and by 1911 Fred was living and working on the farm run by his widowed grandmother and his widowed step-father.

Fred with 6th battalion mobilised for war and landed in Gallipoli in August 1915 where it fought against the Ottoman Empire before being moved to Egypt in February 1916 to defend the Suez Canal. In a letter back home from Egypt Fred wrote "how hot it is digging trenches: “The Canal makes a fine bathing place". In July 1916 the battalion was moved to France where Fred was killed in action two months later during the battle of the Somme (1 Jul 1916 – 18 Nov 1916). More than three million men fought in the battle and one million men were wounded or killed, making it one of the bloodiest battles in human history. In military terms, the outcome of the battle was a minor territorial gain for the allies. Fred was buried on the battlefield and after the Armistice reburied at Regina Trench Cemetery.

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/