William Frederick (Fred) Stone
Memorial: Hanham - High Street
Regiment: Gloucestershire Regiment
Medals: British War Medal, Next of Kin Memorial Plaque 1914 - 1921, Victory Medal
Rank and number: Private 1846
Parents: Thomas James and Sarah Ann Stone (nee Price)
Home address: 57 Court Road, Kingswood, Bristol
Pre-war occupation: Packer
Date of birth: 09/09/1894
Place of birth: Kingswood, Bristol
Date of death: 09/11/1916
Buried/Commemorated at: Buried/Commemorated at: Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France, Hanham High Street Memorial and Kingswood Holy Trinity Memorial
Age: 22
Further information:
Fred, christened William Frederick, was born in Kingswood and was the eldest of three boys. His father was a bootmaker and his mother a sewing machinist. Frederick was a member of the bible class of Kingswood Congregational Church and by 1911, he was being known by his second name Frederick.
Fred was mobilised to France in June 1916 and was killed in action five months later. He died during the Battles of the Somme (1 July – 18 November 1916) which lasted for 140 days and resulted in only minor Allied territorial gain at the cost of 620,000 allied casualties. Frederick’s body was never found or identified and he is commemorated on Thiepval Memorial among 72,000 servicemen with no known grave. He was described by his commanding officer as “very popular amongst the men, always willing and cheerful” .
Fred Stone served with the 1st/4th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment and was Killed in Action on 9 November 1916 age 22.
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/
Kingswood Heritage Museum