Berrisford Harold

BERRISFORD, HAROLD

		Source
		CWGC	SDGW	Uttoxeter Advertiser	Other
Parents	John Thomas Berrisford				3g
Parents	Eliza Berrisford	Yes			3g
Where born	Leigh, Staffordshire				3g
When born	Abt 1896				11
Address	Uttoxeter		Yes
Address	Lowfields, Uttoxeter	Yes
Spouse
Children
Employment Before Joining up	Farm Worker				3g
When enlisted
Where Enlisted	Newcastle, Staffordshire		Yes
Regiment	Royal Field Artillery	Yes	Yes		12
Unit	“C” Battery, 76th Army Brigade	Yes
Rank	Gunner	Yes	Yes
Service Number	231755	Yes	Yes
Date of Death	22 Oct 1917	Yes	Yes
Age at time of death	Abt 21
Where Killed or died	France or Flanders		Yes
Where Killed or died	Ypres sector				11
How he died	Killed in Action		Yes
Location of Grave or Memorial	Canada Farm Cemetery – Grave III. E. 18.	Yes
Awards	Victory Medal: Roll RFA/304B Page 40995				12
Awards	British War Medal: Roll RFA/304B Page 40995				12

Whilst Harold was born in Leigh, Staffordshire ( in about 1896) Five of his siblings were born in Uttoxeter.

Harold’s parents were John Thomas and Eliza Berrisford and his father was a farmer.

At the time of the 1911 Census Harold was working on the farm, along with his father and two brothers. The large family comprised his father, mother, 5 sons (including Harold) and 5 daughters:

Name	Relationship to the head of the family	Marital Status	Years married	Sex	Age in 1911	Occupation	Where Born
John Thomas Berrisford	Head	Married	19	M	54	Farmer	Leigh, Staffordshire
Eliza Berrisford	Wife	Married	19	F	43		Cheadle
John Thomas Berrisford	Son	Single		M	18	Works on Farm	Leigh, Staffordshire
Jesse William Berrisford	Son	Single		M	17	Works on Farm	Leigh, Staffordshire
Harold Berrisford	Son	Single		M	15	Works on Farm	Leigh, Staffordshire
Florence Elsie Berrisford	Daughter	Single		F	14		Leigh, Staffordshire
Walter Ronald Berrisford	Son	Single		M	12	At School	Leigh, Staffordshire
Leonard Norman Berrisford	Son	Single		M	10	At School	Uttoxeter
Peggie May Berrisford	Daughter	Single		F	7		Uttoxeter
Barbara Dolly Berrisford	Daughter	Single		F	5		Uttoxeter
Nancy Primrose Berrisford	Daughter	Single		F	2		Uttoxeter
Daisy Helen Berrisford	Daughter	Single		F	3 months		Uttoxeter

Harold enlisted in Newcastle, Staffordshire and served as a Gunner, Number 231755, in the Royal Field Artillery. He was part of ‘C’ Battery of the 76th Army Brigade.

He was Killed in Action at the age of about 21 on 22nd October 1917 in the Ypres sector of the Western Front and is buried in Grave III.E.18 in Canada Farm Cemetery in Belgium. This is in the area near to Poperinge, on the outskirts of the Ypres sector.

Canada Farm Cemetery was named after a farmhouse that was used here as a dressing station during the 1917 Allied offensive on this front. Most of the burials are of men who died at the dressing station between June and October 1917. It seems possible, therefore, that Harold was wounded taking part in the barrages for the Passchendaele offensive and brought to the dressing station here.

Photos: Commonwealth War Graves Commision

Harold was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal for his military service.