Name
Fred Baines
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
Headstone Inscription
Not Researched
UK & Other Memorials
Pirton School Memorial
Biography
One Frederick Baines died and is recorded on the Village War Memorial. The School War Memorial records two more; Frederick and Frederick John Baines, so both attended the school and the memorial records that both survived the war.
The Parish Magazine of September 1915 records one of them as enlisting sometime during 1914, but after July, and serving in the 1st Hertfordshire Regiment, but which Fred this refers to is not known.
Frederick (not Frederick John) was the second son of Mr and Mrs A Baines - confirmed by parish records as Albert and Emma Elizabeth Baines (née Weeden) and he was born March 7th 1890, so at the outbreak of war he was twenty-four years old. Baptism and census records list ten children: Charlie (bapt 1885), Mary (b 1886), Ida (b 1888 and who died in infancy), Fred (b 1890), Sidney (b 1891), Rose (b 1895), Edward (b 1897), Lily (b 1900), Harry (b 1902) and Hilda (b 1906). Sidney also served, but sadly died. He is recorded on the Village War Memorial. In 1911, Fred was recorded as a coach builder and wheelright.
The Hertfordshire Express of April 21st, 1917 reports the wartime wedding on April 4th, in St Nicholas Church, Stroud, between Fred and Miss Kathleen Chambers from Stroud (granddaughter of Pirton man Thomas Ashton). The article records that one of their presents was from Private N Newberry, another Pirton survivor. Fred must have had a fairly decent period of leave, because the article reports that he and his new bride left by car for a honeymoon in Southend.
Acknowledgments
Text from the book ‘The Pride of Pirton’ by Jonty Wild, Tony French & Chris Ryan used with author's permission
