Gilbert Frederick Erwood

Memorial: South Gloucestershire war dead not on a local memorial

Regiment: Leicestershire Regiment

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

Rank and number: Lance Corporal 9088

Parents: Frederick and Rhoda Erwood (nee Pollinger) and step-father Samuel Randall

Marital status: Single

Home address: Home Address: Hanham, Bristol. Lived: 46 Greyhound Road, South Tottenham.

Pre-war occupation: Soldier

Date of birth: 03/09/1889

Place of birth: Hanham, Bristol

Date of death: 22/10/1914

Buried/Commemorated at: No known burial site. Commemorated at Ploegsteert Memorial, Hainaut, Belgium

Age: 25

Further information:

Gilbert was born in Hanham, the second eldest child of a bootmaker with two brothers and a sister. Gilbert's father died when he was just 4 years old and by 1898 his mother had married Sam a sign writer and the family had moved to London. Gilbert subsequently acquired four younger half-sisters and two younger half-brothers. One of Gilbert’s younger brothers Edward, also died on active service 3 years after Gilbert. Before enlisting, Gilbert like his younger brother worked as a packer in a glass warehouse.

Gilbert enlisted in the "D" Company, 1st Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment in 1911 and was described as being 5’ 5¼” tall with brown hair blue eyes and a fresh complexion. He was initially stationed at Glen Parva barracks in Wigston, Leicestershire, then subsequently at Aldershot. In 1912 he was promoted to Lance Corporal and i September 1914 was mobilised to France where he fought in the Battle of the Aisne. Gilbert was killed in action six weeks after disembarking, during the Battle of Armentieres (13 October – 2 November 1914). The result of the battle was inconclusive but resulted in nearly 6,000 allied casualties. Gilbert’s body was never identified and the Ploegsteert Memorial where he is remembered, commemorates more than 11,000 servicemen of the United Kingdom and South African forces who died in this sector during the First World War and 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/