Frederick Gardener

Memorial: South Gloucestershire war dead not on a local memorial

Regiment: Royal Navy

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

Rank and number: Stoker 1st Class 281742

Parents: Henry and Mary Gardner

Marital status: Married

Home address: Rose Cottage, Crick, Nr. Chepstow, Monmouthshire

Pre-war occupation: Boiler Cleaner

Date of birth: 13/08/1876

Place of birth: Alveston, Bristol

Date of death: 04/06/1915

Buried/Commemorated at: Died at sea. Commemorated on the Helles Memorial in Turkey and Caerwent War Memorial. Not commemorated on a local memorial.

Age: 38

Further information:

Frederick was born in Alveston, the son of a labourer and the second eldest of nine children with four brothers and four sisters. His youngest brother Albert also died on war service. By 1885 Frederick and his family had moved to Caerwent in Monmouthshire and he joined the Navy in 1896 when he was described as 5ft 6 inches tall with brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. Frederick served for 9 years as a stoker in the Navy and left in 1905 when he married Rose Eleanor Jones in the Chepstow area. Together they had four children, three boys and a girl, over the next six years.

Frederick re-enlisted in the Navy in April 1915 and served initially on HMS Pembroke. He joined HMS Victory on 17th September 1914 and on the day of his death his ship was sailing as part of the Howe Battalion involved in an operation in the Dardanelles when he went missing. Frederick’s body was never found and he was assumed killed in action. The Helles Memorial where he is remembered, serves the dual function of Commonwealth battle memorial for the whole Gallipoli campaign and place of commemoration for many of those Commonwealth servicemen, including those who died at sea, who have no known grave.

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/
http://www.thornburyroots.co.uk/war/ww1-seamen/