Ancestral Trails 2016 » Albert REYNOLDS (1884-1918)

Personal data Albert REYNOLDS 

• He was born in the year 1884 in Pirton, Hitchin, Hertfordshire.
• He was baptized on December 25, 1884 in St Mary the Virgin, Pirton, Hitchin, Hertfordshire.
• Occupations:
• Groom (Domestic).
• in the year 1901 Groom Domestic in Lane House Cottages, Kings Walden.
• in the year 1911 Gamekeeper in Foxhills, Chertsey, Surrey.
• He died on August 9, 1918 in Died of wounds, Somme, Francee, he was 34 years old.Source 1
• He is buried in the year 1918 in Pernois British Cemetery, Halloy-les-Pernois, Somme, france.
• A child of Lewis REYNOLDS and Mary Ann CATTERAL

Household of Albert REYNOLDS

He is married to Caroline BASHFORD.

They got married on May 9, 1907 at St Mary the Virgin, Pirton, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, he was 23 years old.

Child(ren):

1. Alfred John Louis REYNOLDS  1907-

Notes about Albert REYNOLDS

1891 aged 6, living near Little Green with his parents, Lewis and Mary Ann Reynolds, and siblings Jacob, Peggy, Daisy E, Mary, William, Abigail, Sarah, George T and Harry. 1901 aged 16, living at Lane House Cottages, Kings Walden St Mary, Hitchin in the home of his married brother and sister in law, Jacob and Martha Reynolds, and niece Alice Reynolds. "On leaving school he went to Kings Walden, living with his eldest brother Jacob and wife Martha who had a three year old daughter, Alice. He then left his brother’s home and for some years worked for Mr. Payne, owner of Shillington Manor; one of the most important men in the area. Sometimes, when working at Shillington Manor he returned to the family home at no. 3 Wesley Cottages. From Pirton he will have set out in the early hours on the trudge into Shillington, probably cutting across fields, sometimes scrounging a lift on a horse drawn vehicle. But for most of that time he will have lived in the servants' quarters at ‘The Manor’. The staff at the Manor was considerable and his eye soon took in Caroline, a young and pretty cook at the Manor, They married and at some date not long before the outbreak of the War they moved as a married couple to work elsewhere. Albert was the sixth born of twelve children to Lewis Reynolds, the local chimney sweep, and his wife Mary, who turned her hand to straw plaiting in between bearing children. When Lewis and Mary first married they had lived in one of the small cottages in Holwell Road (popularly called ‘Merry Arse Row’ (due to the large number of kids with no nappies on!) Jacob was born in 1876. Then followed Peggy (1878), Daisy (1880), Mary (1882), William (1883), Albert in 1885, Abigail 1887; Sarah 1888, twins George and Harry in 1890, Emily 1893, Walter 1894. They all went to the village school; all played with friends, grew up and then sought jobs in the village. Their Uncle Jack, Aunt Ann and family lived next door. We know little about Albert as he became a young man although we do know he was a witness at the St. Mary’s ceremony when his brother William married Margaret Barnes in 1904. Their sister Abigail was also a witness. After marrying, Albert and Caroline showed much initiative in moving elsewhere to further their income. Seemingly, the combination of a gamekeeper and a cook made finding employment not too difficult. It seems that from Shillington they moved north to work on an estate in Yorkshire. Albert’s expertise as a gamekeeper, probably responsible for raising birds for shooting parties, increased the family income. Sadly, we do not have a detailed timetable for Albert and Caroline’s moves, but probably not too long before the outbreak of the War, they moved to Windlesham in Surrey. Their home at Laurel Cottage, one of a number of terraced cottages, probably belonged then to a nearby estate. Certainly, no 2 in Kennel Lane as it is now, was built in 1843. It was there, in this quiet part of Surrey that Caroline gave birth to their only child - how we would like to know something of any offspring! Much of this part of Surrey with its lovely rolling heathland became a major area for establishing army camps in the nineteenth century. Nearby Camberley was nothing before the Royal Military Academy moved to its present site there in 1812. It was in Camberley that Albert enlisted in 1916. He became Gunner/Driver 90497 of the 139th Heavy Battery., Royal Garrison Artillery. The RGA was responsible for the heavy, large calibre guns and howitzers that were positioned some way behind the front line. The139th Battalion moved to France in August 1916, Albert joined them in January 1917. Injuries, often the result of wartime accidents as much as enemy action, were commonplace. In July, Albert suffered a fractured ankle and return to England, recuperating in Leeds. It must have been a severe fracture for he remained there until November 1917. Army action was also required in Ireland and from Leeds he was transferred across the Irish Sea. However, he was able to make the rather circuitous journey with a short leave in Pirton and, one imagines to his wife and child in Windlesham. It was to be the last time he saw his parents who now had all six of their sons in the army. The anxiety and fears of Lewis and Mary Reynolds must have been intense and whatever they really felt, the newspapers wrote of their courage and bravery. “Few families have a better record of war service than the Reynolds Family.” The posting in Ireland was brief and he soon moved on to an army base in Winchester. In March 1918 his brother Walter was killed, Albert was unable to return to Pirton to console his parents. The following month he returned to France and took part in the major fighting to stem the German onslaught - he survived. But his life was soon to be cut short. On 8th August the British forces attacked and, unusually, advanced six miles. We cannot be sure that one description that survives of the night of 8th/9th August was the one in which Albert was involved, but much of it tells us something of the awfulness of that time: That night: It was utterly still. Vehicles made no sound on the marshy ground ... The silence played on our nerves a bit. As we got our guns into position you could hear drivers whispering to their horses and men muttering curses under their breath, and still the silence persisted, broken only by the whine of a stray rifle bullet or a long range shell passing high overhead ... we could feel that hundreds of groups of men were doing the same thing - preparing for the heaviest barrage ever launched. At 4.20 am the next day: all hell broke loose and we heard nothing more. The world was enveloped in sound and flame, and our ears just couldn't cope. The ground shook. After the initial advance the resistance stiffened. Somewhere in the fighting on this summer’s day in 1918 Albert Reynolds was severely injured. A local newspaper of the time wrote: "Whilst lying in the makeshift hospital in France, he seemed to realize that his end was near.’ He wrote, or more likely dictated for someone else to write, a last letter to his wife Caroline". He died of his awful wounds the following day, 9th August. He is buried at the Pernois British cemetery at Halloy-Les-Pernois in the Somme (Ref. III. B. 14) This seemingly gentle, country-loving man, devoted wife and father, was the twenty-sixth Pirton victim of the war that seemed to go on for ever. It is recorded that he was considerate to all, that nothing was too much trouble if it meant a kindly action to others. He seemed to make friends wherever he went and whilst in the hospital in Leeds he became adept at making articles for local Red Cross sales. ‘He became a favourite with the local ladies of the Red Cross for his readiness and cheerfulness to help in any way he could." SOURCE: Aubrey Reynolds, Clare Baines, Denise Marshall, Helen Hofton, Jonty Wild www.pirton.org.uk, Lynda Smith www.roll-of-honour.com, Allan Grant, Edward & Elliot - Windlesham Estate Agents and, of course, ‘A Foot on Three Daisies??, Pirton’s wonderful history book Albert was killed 8 months after the death of his younger brother Walter. Gunner 90497. Albert Reynolds was born at Pirton in Hertfordshire in 1883 son of Lewis and Mary Ann Reynolds. He was married to Caroline Reynolds of Laurel Cottage, Windlesham Surrey with whom he was living and his son when he joined up on 1st June 1916. He joined the Royal Garrison Artillery 139th Heavy Battery at the age of 33. During the rest of 1916 he was training at Dover. On 18th January 1917 he left Aldershot for France landing at Le Havre on 19th January and reaching Albert on 21st January. He kept a diary from which we know that in 1917 he was moving about Moulin, Hardincourt, Dunkirk, St. Omer, Rouen, and Cryde. In July, whilst grass cutting, they were shelled out of Hardincourt. On 19th July he met with an accident whilst fetching forage, which necessitated his going into hospital at St. Omer. After undergoing X-rays at Rouen, he was sent to Southampton by the Hospital Ship, St. George, and from there to Leeds and Killingbeck Hospitals where he was until November when he came home on leave. On 5th January he left home again for Bullivant. On 13th April 1918 he left Winchester for France again. On 25th April he was in action and one gun was knocked out. Judging from his diary he was in action for most of June and July and on 8th August he was hit and died the following day. He was very fond of natural history and bird life as the following extract of his diary shows: “1918. On 23rd March fine morning with heavy dew, the birds singing in the trees and the rooks building their nests. The sun was shining very hot towards the middle of the day; a butterfly was flying around and bumble bees were whirling past; thus ended a perfect day???. Another entry in the midst of others “in action” comes “May 1st I heard the nightingale”. His wife received a very touching and sympathetic letter from one of his comrades on behalf of himself and all his mates in Sub-Section E as soon as the news of her husband’s death had reached them at their battery on 9th August 1918. Son of Lewis and Mary Ann Reynolds; husband of Caroline Reynolds, of Laurel Cottage, Windlesham, Surrey. Born at Pirton, Herts. Buried at Pernois British Cemetery, Halloy-les-Pernois, Somme, France. SOURCE: www.roll-of honour.com/Surrey/Windlesham.html

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Timeline Albert REYNOLDS

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