Alfred Warwick. Died 26 October 1914
Alfred was born in 1895 and died in the first few months of the war at the age of only nineteen. He was from a large family of seven brothers and five sisters, being the eleventh born son of Malachi and Eliza Warwick. Malachi was to die in 1924 and in his eighties, but Eliza was to precede him by 14 years after a lifetime of childbirth. It is therefore little wonder that Alfred was to be living with his elder sister, Alice at the time of the 1911 and also probably connected to his signing up to the military prior to the outset of war.
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Included in this page is a picture of his brother William, whose Great Grandniece, Belinda Tweedle tells us that the family believed lost an arm and still managed to play darts at his local. As we can see by the caption on the attached photo, that the family story was entirely correct.
Alfred served as a regular soldier in the Royal Berkshire Regiment 1st Battalion, having signed up some time before the outbreak of war. John Chapman’s excellent www.purley.eu tells us of the 1st Battalion:
‘The 1st Battalion was at Aldershot when war was declared. They departed for France on the 12th August 1914 and participated in the retreat from Mons as part of 6th Brigade. Their first major action was at the Bridge on the Sambre 25th/26th August. The end point of the Retreat was reached on 7th September when they reached Le Poteau. The flow of fighting was reversed on 9th September when they crossed the Marne and then the Aisne on the 14th. They then settled into trench warfare based at La Metz Farm. One of the first executions of the war took place there on 26th September when 9641 Pte George Ward was shot for cowardice. The Battalion were involved in the 1st battle of Ypres from the 22nd Octoberto the 13th November’.
Malachi Warwick, Alfred's Dad
Alfred, we now know was killed in the early days of the 1st Battle of Ypres. On the day of Alfred’s death, there was heavy fighting throughout. Alfred is named as being killed on the 26th as we know and noted alongside him is another Wokingham man, Henry Sadler, who is also listed on the War Memorial. See John Chapman’s contribution:
http://www.purley.eu/H142P/P189-ypre.pdf Go on to page 189.11 or follow the date, 26th October.
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