Name
Albert John (Jack) Curtis
1895
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
16/08/1915
20
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Private
4746
Bedfordshire Regiment
5th Bn. [Territorial Force]
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
British War and Victory medals
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
HELLES MEMORIAL
Panel 55 and 218.
Turkey (including Gallipoli)
Headstone Inscription
N/A
UK & Other Memorials
Shenley War Memorial,
Bromham St Owen War Memorial, Bedfordshire
Pre War
Albert John Curtis was born in 1895 in Bromham, Bedfordshire, the son of Samuel and Emma Curtis and one of four children, although one died in early childhood.
On the 1901 Census the family were living in Bromham village where his father was working as a waggoner at the mill. Jack was a pupil at the St Owen's School and in 1909 when he was thirteen, Jack was one of five boys given a cash prize for the best cultivated plots in the school garden. The family remained in Bromham in 1911 at which time Jack was working as a farm labourer like his father. He later worked in Shenley but returned to Bromham in June 1914 to play in a cricket match at Bromham Park against a team from the Clarence Hotel in Bedford.
Wartime Service
He enlisted in Bedford on 11 November 1914 and joined the Bedfordshire Regiment, serving with the 5th Battalion. After training he was sent to Gallipoli, landing at Mudros on 10 August 1915. Sadly he was soon wounded in action and Jack died of his wounds on 16 August 1915 aboard H M Hospital Ship 'Assaye'. He has no known grave and his name is commemorated on the Helles Memorial, Turkey.
Additional Information
His father received a war gratuity of £3 and pay owing of £2 7s 11d. His mother received a pension of 5 shillings a week.
Acknowledgments
Taff Williams, Brenda Palmer
shenleyww1.wordpress.com
