Name
Owen William Gilbert
1897
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
10/10/1917
20
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Private
203474
Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment)
1st/4th Bn.
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
British War and Victory medals
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
DOZINGHEM MILITARY CEMETERY
X. H. 9.
Belgium
Headstone Inscription
Peace perfect peace
UK & Other Memorials
Hitchin Town Memorial, 4 Co' Hertfordshire Reg' Territorials’ Memorial, Hitchin, Holy Saviour Church War Memorial, Radcliffe Rd., Hitchin (*1), St Mary's Church Roll of Honour, Hitchin
Pre War
Owen William Gilbert was born in 1897 in Cambridge and christened at St Saviour’s Church, Hitchin on 22 May 1902. His parents were Frederick Alester and Kate Gilbert (née Stokes) who married in 1888.
In 1901 the family were living at Grove Road, Hitchin. Present were both parents: Frederick (35) and Kate (32), with Frederick working as a railway engine driver. Their children were: Mary A (5), Owen W (3) and Lavinia E (1).
By 1911 the family were living at 51 Kings Rd, Hitchin, Herts. Present were both parents, Frederick still a railway engine driver. The census recorded they had been married for 22 years with 9 children, of whom 5 had died. The children now listed were: Owen, now 14 and a schoolboy and part time errand grocer boy, Lavinia Ethell (11), Harry Bick (9) and Alice Maud (3). John James Emerton (19), a nephew, was also present.
Officially Owen was recorded as enlisting in Hitchin, but no service record has been found.
Before mobilisation he worked for Mr L. Angell the baker of Walsworth Road, Hitchin.
Wartime Service
As he appears on the Hitchin Territorial’s memorial he must have enlisted with them before the war. He would have been mobilised in August 1914 for ‘Home’ service. As a Territorial he was not required to serve overseas and, although many volunteered to do so. So Owen did not go with his mates, who went in November 1914, and officially he would have been too young anyway.
So he served in the UK until August 1916 when either he volunteered or was conscripted to go and this is probably when he became Private 203474 in the 1/4th Battalion Duke of Wellington's (West Riding) Regiment. He and served at Ypres, Arras and on the Somme. This Battalion at the time of his death was part of the 147th Brigade in the 49th Division. He was mortally wounded in the arm and abdomen.
He was most probably injured the same day that he died. This was in the area near the road between Gravenstafel and Meetcheele where mud and water was waist deep and where an attack began at 5.20am.
He may have reached one of the three local British Hospitals (Dozingham) for treatment – The location was near to that of the 4th, 47th and 61st Casualty Clearing Stations. Commonly known by the troops as Mending them (Mendinghem), Dosing them (Dozinghem) and Bandage them (Bandaghem).
He was buried in Plot 10, Row H, Grave 9 in the Dozinghem Military Cemetery in Westvleteren near Poperinghe in the Ypres Salient, Belgium.
The name of the cemetery was a play on the Flemish language as used by the British troops. The location was near to that of the 4th, 47th and 61st Casualty Clearing Stations.
Additional Information
After his death £10 3s 6d was authorised to go to his mother, Kate, on 11 February 1918, then another 6s on 4 April 1918 and later, a war gratuity of £14 10s was authorised to be paid to her, on 17 November 1919.
His pension cards record Kate Gilbert, his widow/father/mother, as his dependant, living at 51 Kings Road, Hitchin, but do nor record the details of any pension award. Although she made the application on 29 December 1919.
His father Frederick Gilbert, ordered his headstone inscription, when living at 51, King's Rd., Hitchin, Herts., it reads: “PEACE PERFECT PEACE”.
*1 In the majority of records which also give a service number, Hitchin address or parents names he appears as Owen or Owen William Gilbert, so we are confident of this man’s identity. Three A Gilberts have been found, with and association to Hertfordshire, but neither has an identified connection to Hitchin. For this reason we believe that the Town memorial’s listing is a simple error and should be O W not A W, but, perhaps, the St Saviour’s listing may still leave some doubt. However as Owen was christening in St Saviour’s it would seem most likely that this too is a error and ‘A’’ should be ‘O’, but it is surprising that this was not corrected by his parents who were still living in Hitchin after Owen’s death
Acknowledgments
David C Baines, Jonty Wild
