Name
Bert (Bertie) Kingston
1891
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
12/10/1916
26
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Private
14126
Bedfordshire Regiment
2nd Bn.
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
1914 /15 Star, British War and Victory medals
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
THIEPVAL MEMORIAL
Pier and Face 2 C.
France
Headstone Inscription
N/A
UK & Other Memorials
Hertford Town Memorial, Christchurch Plaque, now in Holy Trinity Church, Bengeo, Berkhamsted Town Memorial
Pre War
Bertie (Bert) Kingston was born in 1891 in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, the son of George and Eliza Kingston, and was baptised in Berkhamsted on 15 April 1891. He was one of eight children.
He was three weeks old at the time of the 1891 Census, when the family were living at Canal Side, Berkhamsted. They remained there in 1901 when they resided at 6 Canal Side where his father was working as a general labourer.
They had moved to 65 Shrublands Avenue, Berkhamsted by 1911 and his father was employed as a labourer in a market garden and Bert was a labourer in a chemical works.
The connection to Bengeo is unknown, but it is likely he was working there before enlistment and enlisted in nearby Hertford.
Wartime Service
Bertie enlisted in Hertford and joined the 2nd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, and was sent to France on 1 May 1915. His unit fought at the Battle of Festubert on 17 May, where they attacked German lines until they reached ditches up to 4ft wide with between 2 and 5 feet of water in them and they were forced to retire to their original positions. After this they took part in the Second Battle of Givenchy in June and at Loos in September.
The following year, after training, they fought on the Somme at Trones Wood, Montauban and Delville Wood. During this period the Battalion suffered heavy casualties. On 12 October they took part in the Battle for Transloy Ridge. They attacked at 2.05pm, but again they suffered from heavy enemy fire and were forced to retire. During 12 and 13 October the battalion suffered almost 500 casualties including Bertie whose body was not recovered.
His death was presumed on or since 12 October 1916, aged 26. He has no known grave and his name is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, France.
Additional Information
His mother received a war gratuity of £9 and pay owing of £7 17s 1d. She also received a pension of 11 shillings a week in respect of Bertie and his brother George who died the previous month.
Both brothers are named on the Thiepval Memorial and Berkhamsted Memorial.
Acknowledgments
Brenda Palmer
Malcolm Lennox, Terry & Glenis Collins
