Frederick Charles Feltham
Memorial: Alveston - St Helen's Church
Regiment: Gloucestershire Regiment
Medals: British War Medal, Next of Kin Memorial Plaque 1914 - 1921, Victory Medal
Rank and number: Private 266280
Parents: Charles Frederick and Ellen Feltham
Home address: Lower Hazel, Rudgeway, Bristol
Date of birth: 1892
Place of birth: Thornbury, Bristol
Date of death: 19/07/1916
Buried/Commemorated at: Loos Memorial (Panel 60 to 64), France
Age: 24
Further information:
Charles Frederick and Ellen Feltham were both born in Somerset and their son Fred was born in Barton Hill in Bristol. Subsequently the family moved north to Gloucestershire and lived in Lower Hazel where daughters Winifred and Doris were born. Their father, Charles, was employed as a domestic gardener and the children would have gone to Rudgeway school which was located on the Gloucester Road just opposite the turning leading to the old church and on to Iron Acton.
Frederick enlisted in Bristol and was assigned to the 2nd/6th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment. At this point there is some confusion as to his records for a second service number is linked to his name and a reference is made in the Bristol Times and Mirror of January 23rd 1915 to a Sergeant Frederick Feltham of the 1st/6th Battalion. However, it is also correctly recorded that Frederick was posted to the 2nd/6th Battalion as was Arthur Bond, who lived in nearby Rudgeway.
Early in the war the 2nd/6th Battalion was sent to France and by the beginning of July 1916 it was in the Fauquissart area. On July 10th Arthur Bond and Frederick were in trenches preparing for a raid into enemy held territory. By the 14th everything had been prepared for a gas attack on the German positions but the wind failed and the raid was cancelled. Within twenty-four hours the Battalion was relieved by the 2nd/4th Glosters and the 2nd/4th Royal Berkshire Regiment and withdrew to be billeted at Laventie. However, their break was short-lived and by July 16th they moved back to their old trenches and took over part of the line from the 2nd/4th Glosters. The next two days were spent waiting for orders to attack but these were not forthcoming as it was felt that the allied force was insufficiently prepared. On July 19th at 11.00am the Germans commenced a bombardment causing some fifty casualties amongst the 2nd/6th Glosters. “We returned the artillery bombardment throughout the afternoon and the men in the trenches went over the top at 5.40pm. Our protective gun barrage was stopped at 7.00pm and two more waves of the Glosters 2nd/4th Battalion went out. The men were practically blown back as they went over the top as a result of the German machine gun fire and the shrapnel.” The German artillery fire was again concentrated on the east end of the line where the 2nd/6th Glosters were located and despite the bombardment, orders were received at 8.00pm to attack again. In this brief assault, thirteen officers and one hundred and sixty five other ranks of the battalion died, and orders were received at 9.00pm to prepare for relief by the 27th Worcestershire Regiment, which was completed by 2.00am. Frederick Feltham and Arthur Bond had lost their lives and their sacrifice is recorded on the Loos Memorial north-west of Lens as are the names of 20,587 others.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
Forces War Records, CWGC and Ancestry.co.uk