Terry Denham Posted 13 January , 2009 Share Posted 13 January , 2009 CWGC added the following 'new' WW1 casualties to its Debt of Honour database today – Tuesday 13th January. Pte Fred Harry BARDEN 357145 1/9th Bn, Hampshire Regiment Died 09.09.18 Age 21 Commemorated: Brookwood (United Kingdom 1914-1918) Memorial, Surrey, UK Pte Robert BENNETT TR/5/61698 85th Bn, Training Reserve Died 30.01.17 Age 18 Commemorated: Brookwood (United Kingdom 1914-1918) Memorial, Surrey, UK Pte George GRAY 117881 Royal Army Medical Corps Died 05.01.18 Age 32 Commemorated: Brookwood (United Kingdom 1914-1918) Memorial, Surrey, UK Pte William QUEENEY 12057 Cheshire Regiment Died 17.01.17 Age 51 Commemorated: Brookwood (United Kingdom 1914-1918) Memorial, Surrey, UK NOT FORGOTTEN Pte BARDEN was put forward on 07.12.08 on behalf of member, Will O’Brien Pte BENNETT was put forward on 12.12.08 by In From The Cold Project. He died of meningitis in the Royal Infirmary in Hull (Volunteer: Peter Woodger) Pte GRAY was put forward on 11.12.08 by the In From The Cold Project. He died of pneumonia and heart failure in 2nd Western Hospital, Manchester (Volunteer: John Hartley) Pte QUEENEY was put forward on 07.12.08 on behalf of member, John Hartley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisharley9 Posted 13 January , 2009 Share Posted 13 January , 2009 May They Rest In Peace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Hartley Posted 13 January , 2009 Share Posted 13 January , 2009 William Queeney is another of my Stockport men, not an IFCP case, but I'm particularly pleased to see him "in from the cold". As will be seen below, I felt he was right for commemoration although there seems to have been some attempt to play down his military service aggravating his TB. I think this shows that CWGC/MoD can take a sympathetic attitude towards submissions and I take my hat off to the people who have made the decision. Most men who lied about their age to enlist did so because they were too young to join. William was too old. His service papers show that, when he enlisted on 7 September 1914, he had given his age as 44 – just old enough to be considered. He was, in fact, some four years older. He’d been born near Wednesbury in Staffordshire but lived in Stockport where he earned his living as a casual labourer. After training, he was posted to the 1st Garrison Battalion of the Cheshire Regiment which was on Empire defence duties at Gibraltar. He returned home in March 1916, suffering from Tuberculosis and was discharged from the army the following month. His army pension papers show some discrepancies which perhaps suggest that the authorities were trying to avoid giving William a full pension. Whilst it was accepted that the TB was not caused by his army service, there is a statement that it was aggravated by his service at Gibraltar. That statement has been subsequently crossed out ( and is the part of the submission that the good folks at the MoD have ignored) William returned to his wife and home at 15 London Place where, on 17 January 1917, he died of TB and haemorrhage of the lungs. I've not been able to trace his burial in the Stockport area but he'll be there somewhere. NOT FORGOTTEN John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will O'Brien Posted 13 January , 2009 Share Posted 13 January , 2009 Raising a glass to the memory of Fred, Robert, George & William, Raising another to Peter & John for their efforts. I'm very pleased to see Fred Barden has been accepted for commemoration. I'll update his story in due course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will O'Brien Posted 14 January , 2009 Share Posted 14 January , 2009 I became ‘involved’ with Fred Barden through my research into the men commemorated on the Fenny Stratford memorial. Anyone who is familiar with the memorial will know that the quality of the inscriptions is not what is once was. Time & weather have taken their toll & some efforts in the past to reinvigorate the names & inscriptions with black paint have done little other than to on occasion mislead. The memorial lists three men named Barden. These would appear to be’ F.H Barden’, ‘W. Barden’ & ‘S. Barden’. The first two were easily identifiable from the CWGC, however the third ‘S Barden’ was allusive. Eventually my research led me to The National Roll of Honour for North Bucks, Beds & Northants, which in turn made led me to realise that in Fenny Stratford there had been two men named F.H. Barden who had served & died during the Great War, the man I had already identified & Fred. On closer examination of Fenny Stratford memorial, the ‘S. Barden’ inscription is particularly suspect as being one of the more weathered/poorly maintained. Whether ‘S. Barden’ should really read ‘F. Barden’ I simply don’t know but it’s certainly a distinct possibility. Now to Fred himself. Fred’s family originally came from Bow Brickhill in Buckinghamshire. His Grandmother owned the village sweet/confectionary shop. His parents were George Morossi Barden & Elizabeth Emily Barden (nee Birch). They married in 1881 & moved to nearby Little Brickhill. Fred was the youngest of six children, born on the 19th October 1896. He had one brother Albert & four sisters, Ethel, Maud, Constance & Mabel. All of the siblings were born in Little Brickhill, although sometime between 1901 & 1911 they moved to 69 Napier Street, Fenny Stratford. Co-incidentally the family of George Barden’s younger brother Andrew (Fred’s Uncle) also lived in the same street at number 52. Napier Street is still exists although it has much changed from the days when the Barden family lived there. After school Fred became a Wireman with the Post Office, working in Bletchley until he enlisted on the 18th March 1916. Straight away his health was highlighted as an issue as he was only passed as being B1. & a month later he was admitted to hospital. Fred never went overseas & spent his time on Garrison duties on the South coast. His health got progressively worse & in April 1917 he was examined by a Medical Board & found to have Tuberculosis. Fred was discharged from the Army at Weymouth on the 19th May 1917 as physically unfit for further service. Initially his condition was deemed not attributable to or aggravated by his military service. The report of the original Medical Board stated that the condition originated from as early as September 1914 in Bletchley. I can only assume that to make this sort of statement the Medical Board had additional information perhaps from Fred’s local Doctor. However this decision was overturned on the 6th October 1917 by an Appeal Tribunal which determined that Fred’s condition had been made worse by his service in the army. This resulted in him being awarded an Army Pension. Unfortunately Fred had less than a year to live & he died at home with his sister Maud in attendance. The cause of death being Tuberculosis. This was not the only Great War tragedy to befall the Barden clan. Frank Humphrey Barden (the F.H. Barden I identified on the Fenny Stratford), the eldest son of Andrew Barden & cousin of Fred was killed in action on the 19th July 1916 whilst serving with the 6th Oxford & Bucks Light Infantry. He was a former Policeman who had volunteered on the outbreak of the war in August 1914. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisharley9 Posted 12 October , 2009 Share Posted 12 October , 2009 Pte Barden's grave has been found Manor Road Cemetery, Fenny Stratford, Bletchley Grave 286C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will O'Brien Posted 12 October , 2009 Share Posted 12 October , 2009 Pte Barden's grave has been found Manor Road Cemetery, Fenny Stratford, Bletchley Grave 286C Excellent news Chris. I'm glad you had better luck with the local authority than I did. Well done mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisharley9 Posted 12 October , 2009 Share Posted 12 October , 2009 Will they were unable to tell me about the condition of the grave - as you live nearby could you get a picture please Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisharley9 Posted 27 October , 2009 Share Posted 27 October , 2009 Pte Robert BENNETT TR/5/61698 85th Bn, Training Reserve Died 30.01.17 Age 18 Commemorated: Brookwood (United Kingdom 1914-1918) Memorial, Surrey, UK Grave found High Roding All Saints Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisharley9 Posted 6 November , 2014 Share Posted 6 November , 2014 BARDEN, FRED HARRY Rank:PrivateService No:357145Date of Death:09/09/1918Age:21Regiment/Service:Hampshire Regiment 1st/9th Bn. Grave Reference:Grave 286C.Cemetery:BLETCHLEY CEMETERYAdditional Information: N.B. Recent research has shown that Private Barden is buried here. The Commission is in the process of producing a headstone to mark his grave. Commemoration Moved From UK BOR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will O'Brien Posted 15 May , 2017 Share Posted 15 May , 2017 (edited) I can confirm that Fred Barden's headstone has now been erected. Edited 15 May , 2017 by Will O'Brien Photo added Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisharley9 Posted 15 May , 2017 Share Posted 15 May , 2017 14 hours ago, Will O'Brien said: I can confirm that Fred Barden's headstone has now been erected. Nice one Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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