GILBERT

		Source
		CWGC	SDGW	Uttoxeter Advertiser	Other
Parents	Oma Gilbert	Yes			3
	George Omar Gilbert				5h
	Mary Ann Gilbert	Yes			5h
Where born	Uttoxeter, Staffordshire		Yes		3
Where born	Combridge, Staffordshire				5n
When born	About 1885				7
Address	Parents: Marchington, Staffordshire	Yes			3
	Parents: 40 Ashbourne Road, Uttoxeter				5h
	Relatives at Cornhill			4d
	The Cottage, Combridge				5j
	Combridge, Uttoxeter			4a	5a
Spouse	Yes			4c, 4d	5a
	Elizabeth Kate Gilbert of Combridge, Uttoxeter	Yes		4d	3, 5b, 5f, 5h, 5h, 5k, 5m
	Maiden name Hill				5b
Children	One son			4d
	Arthur William Gilbert				5b, 5h
	One			4c	5j
Employment Before Joining up	Gardener at Woodseat, Rocester, Staffordshire				3
	Farm Labourer				5a
	Labourer				5n
Where enlisted	Uttoxeter		Yes		3
Regiment	Formerly 6785, North Staffordshire (Prince of Wales’s)		Yes		3, 5d, 5n
	Formerly 6^th North Staffordshire Regiment				5a
	York & Lancaster Regiment	Yes	Yes	4c, 4d	3, 5a, 5c, 5h, 5j, 5l, 5n, 5r
Unit	14^th Bn	Yes			5j, 5l, 5r
	14^th (S) Bn				3
	14th (Service) (2nd Barnsley) Bn.		Yes
Rank	Private	Yes	Yes	4a, 4b, 4c, 4d	3, 5f, 5h, 5l, 5r
Service Number	31469	Yes	Yes	4a	3, 5c, 5d, 5f (indistinct), 5h, 5l, 5n
Date of Death	20^th December 1917	Yes	Yes	4b, 4c, 4d	3
Age at time of death	32	Yes		4c, 4d
Age at time of death	32 years and 2 months				5a, 5b
Where Killed or died	France or Flanders		Yes	4b, 4c	5a
How he died	Killed in action		Yes	4b, 4c, 4d	5a, 5e
Location of Grave or Memorial	Roclincourt Military Cemetery – Grave I.F.23.	Yes
	Rocester Church Lych Gate Memorial				3
	Marchington Church War Memorial				6
Awards

For some reason, his name does not appear on any of the town’s memorials, despite the fact that he was born and enlisted in Uttoxeter.

The 1891 census^8b shows him as being John Gilbert’s brother. John also died during the war. Full particulars of the rest of his brothers and sisters are as follows:

Before the war Richard was at one stage a Farm Labourer^5a and at another stage a Gardener at Woodseat, Rocester, Staffordshire³.

During the night of the 1901 Census^8c he was staying with John and Ann Moore in Marchington, Staffordshire. His position in the household was recorded as Servant^8c, which could mean almost anything.

His service record indicates that he attested on 24^th December 1915^{5c, 5r} and was placed on the Reserve the next day^5c.

He was then mobilised on 10^th June 1916^{5c, 5d} and enlisted in the army on 12^th June 1916^{5a, 5c}. At this time he was 30 years and 8 months old^{5a, 5b} or 31 years and 2 months old^5d. He was 5 feet 9 inches tall^{5b, 5n} and had a chest measurement of 38 inches^5b.

Richard was passed from pillar to post throughout his service with the army and served with several battalions and two regiments.

He was posted with the 3^rd/6^th North Staffordshire Regiment on 13^th June 1916^{5c, 5r} and was then transferred to the 3^rd/5^th North Staffordshire Regiment in September 1916^{5c, 5d}.

He first went to France in September 1916³, while the battle of the Somme was raging. It must have been with great trepidation that his wife will have seen him go, because the local newspaper had carried details of local lads who had been killed over the preceding weeks.

He left England at Folkestone on 26^th September 1916^5d and disembarked at Boulogne on the same day^5d.

He was then transferred to the 5^th Reserve of the Yorks and Lancs Regiment^5d and posted into the 14^th battalion of the Yorkshire and Lancashire Regiment^{5c, 5d, 5r}on 13th October 1916^{5c, 5d, 5r}. This suggests that the 14^th battalion of the Yorkshire and Lancashire Regiment had suffered large casualties and needed to be reinforced, but we have not looked into this in any detail yet.

On the 9^th of May 1917 he was wounded in Action^5d Richard’s service record tells us that his injury was a slight gunshot wound to the face^5b. He was transferred to Number 8 Casualty Clearing Station on the same day^5d. In May 1917 the Uttoxeter Advertiser published an article^4a that said that he had been wounded. It also said that his brother had been killed previously in Mesopotamia^4a and that he had two other brothers serving^4a.

He recovered from his injuries and returned to duties at Etaples on 15thMay 1916^5d and from there he was sent back to the front on the 28^th May^5e. His wounds had taken him out of the line for a total of 19 days.

On 9^th May 1918, a full 4 months after he had died, a letter was sent from the War Office to the Officer in charge of the Infantry Records in York, requesting that any articles of personal property belonging to Richard be sent to his wife^5f. In July 1918 she received the following^5k:

He left a wife, Elizabeth Kate^5b and a son Arthur William^5b. Arthur’s birthday was 18^th March 1914^{5b, 5h}. If that was the case, little Arthur was only three years old when he lost his father and he would probably not have known or remembered him.

On 11^th January 1918 Elizabeth was awarded a separation allowance of 19 shillings and sixpence per week^5m to support her and little Arthur. This was followed on 26^th June 1918 by a pension of £1 and 5 pence (20s/5d) per week ^5j.

Richard is commemorated on the lovely War Memorial on Marchington Church: