UPTON

		Source
		CWGC	SDGW	Uttoxeter Advertiser	Other
Parents
Where born	Uttoxeter, Staffordshire		Yes
When born	About 1884				3
Position in the family	Had a sister Annie, who lived in Leeds			1b
Address	John Street, Uttoxeter			1d
	17, James Street Uttoxeter	Yes
	Staffordshire		Yes
Spouse	Mrs. E. A. Ward	Yes
Spouse	Yes			1a, 1c	6a
Children	More than one			1c
	Young family				6a
	Edward			1d
Employment Before Joining up
Where enlisted	Uttoxeter, Staffordshire		Yes
Regiment	Royal Field Artillery	Yes	Yes	1b
Unit	North Midland Div. Ammunition Col.	Yes
Unit	Territorial Force		Yes
Rank	Gunner	Yes	Yes	1b, 1c, 1d
Rank	Private			1a	6a
Service Number	332	Yes
Service Number	322		Yes
Date of Death	8 January 1915	Yes	Yes	1a, 1b, 1c
Age at time of death	31	Yes
Age at time of death	Early thirties				6a
Where Killed or died	Hartshill Infirmary, England			1a	6a
Where Killed or died	In hospital			1b, 1c
How he died	Illness - Pneumonia		Yes (States ‘Died’)	1a
Location of Grave or Memorial	Uttoxeter Cemetery	Yes			2, 6a
Location of Grave or Memorial	Grave Old. 2. 147.	Yes			2
Awards

Given that he was 31 when he died in 1915, just 5 months after the outbreak of war, it seems reasonable to assume that he joined up shortly after war was declared.

John Merrick’s obituary in the Uttoxeter Advertiser^[1a] tells us that he was married to John Merrick’s eldest sister. The article speaks about Fred’s death in the following terms:

“True, he did not lose his life on the battlefield, but whilst in training at Luton he contracted pneumonia, and died on January 8 last after being brought to Hartshill Infirmary”.

The Staffordshire Weekly Sentinel^[6a] described his funeral in the following way:

Territorials on leave in Uttoxeter attended the funeral on Tuesday afternoon of Private F Upton, a Territorial who died at Hartshill from pneumonia and was buried at Uttoxeter cemetery. There were some 30 Territorials present and the Last Post was sounded by Bugler Chatfield. Deceased, who was in the early thirties leaves a wife and a young family.

All of the memorial notices that follow were posted in the Uttoxeter Advertiser to mark the anniversaries following his death. It is clear from the words in these notices that Fred Upton was very much grieved for by his family.

In November 1918 the Uttoxeter Advertiser^[1d] reported that his son Edward had been granted a bursary for the Uttoxeter Grammar School. The family was living in John Street at the time.

	Fred Upton’s grave is in Uttoxeter Cemetery. It is set aside from other graves and easily seen alongside the path which runs from the entrance gates.