Reuben Charles Prosser
Memorial: Badminton Memorial Hall - Hayes Lane
Regiment: Royal Berkshire Regiment
Medals: 1939–45 Star, War Medal 1939–1945
Rank and number: 5332403
Parents: George and Caroline (Nee Hinder) Prosser
Marital status: Married
Home address: Home Address: 1939, lived – 165 Station Road, Badminton Lived: 1911 – Bishops Cleeve, near Cheltenham
Pre-war occupation: Horseman on Farm
Date of birth: 05/10/1909
Place of birth: Tewkesbury
Date of death: 1984
Buried/Commemorated at: Unknown
Age: 74
Further information:
Reuben Prosser survived the war. On the 1939 Register he is recorded with his wife Martha and three children, and they lived at No. 165 Station Road, Badminton. In the remarks, it states Reuben was in the Army Reserve serving with the Royal Berkshire Regiment (4th Battalion) and gives his service No. as 5332403.
Reuben went to France with his regiment in early 1940 and by late May 1940, the Battalion was defending the Albert Canal in Belgium and was overwhelmed by German troops. Many soldiers of the 4th Battalion were captured and made prisoners of war. Reuben was wounded in this action and was eventually evacuated from Dunkirk. It is unclear if Reuben continued to serve, but subsequent events suggests he recovered and was discharged.
Reuben appears to have been a petty thief, as there are several entries in newspapers from the Tewkesbury and Cheltenham area where he appeared before magistrates for the theft of amongst other things, chickens, rabbits and in early 1944 he was jailed for 4 months for theft.
I could not trace the Marriage of Reuben and Martha Wilks (The maiden name given on the birth records for their 3 children). Martha married again in 1957 and used the surname Wilks for the registration. Reuben also married again in 1957, Agnes Davis (Forest of Dean district).
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
Findmypast, Volunteer Researcher John Davis.