Charles Herbert Pedley

Name

Charles Herbert Pedley

Conflict

First World War

Date of Death / Age

17/02/1917
23

Rank, Service Number & Service Details

Private
36428
Princess Charlotte of Wales’ (Royal Berkshire) Regiment
6th Bn.

Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards

Not Yet Researched

Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country

THIEPVAL MEMORIAL
Pier and face 11D
France

Headstone Inscription

Not Researched

UK & Other Memorials

Hitchin Town Memorial,
St Mary's Church Roll of Honour (Book), Hitchin,
Not listed on the Hertfordshire Regimental Memorial, All Saints Church, Hertford

Pre War

He was the second son of John and Rebecca Pedley of 29, Highbury Road, Hitchin. Before joining the army he had been a messenger for the Post Office for two years. He had also worked as a houseboy for Mr W.H. Spencer of Verulam Road, Hitchin. Immediately before joining up he had been in the Bedford Police Force for one year.

He was born in Hitchin and was residing there when he enlisted in Hertford in mid-summer 1915.

Wartime Service

At first he was in the Hertfordshire Regiment with the Regimental Number 5810 but was later posted to the 6th Battalion of the Berkshires with the Number 36428. This Battalion was in the 53rd Brigade of the 18th Division. He had been in France for eight months before he was killed in action.

His Platoon Commander wrote that he was one of the best men in it and that he had been offered promotion, but did not care to take it.

At the date of his death the 18th Division was engaged just south of the River Ancre a little to the east of Beaumont Hamel. The 6th Battalion of the Royal Berkshire Regiment assembled before the 5.45 am zero hour near Folly Trench not far from the junction of the Grandcourt Road and 16 Road which is about two miles south east of Grandcourt in the Somme Sector. The men had to go into action unfed as the rations did not arrive in time. The attack was hampered by uncut wire, a supporting barrage that outpaced the attackers and fire from the flanks due to adjacent units not keeping up. The day's objectives were not achieved and the Battalion sustained 194 casualties on this one day including 19 Other Ranks killed.

There is strong possibility that a deserter had warned the Germans of the impending attack, as in the forming up period and throughout the attack German shelling and machine-gunning was of greater intensity than was to be expected.

Additional Information

He was probably in the same action as L.H. Pateman who was in the same Battalion and disappeared on the same day. They had probably enlisted on the same day as their Regimental Numbers are close together.

Charles is also commemorated on his father's headstone in Hitchin Cemetery. His inscription reads:

Acknowledgments

Adrian Dunne, David C Baines, Jonty Wild