PRITCHARD Frederick Oscar

Appears in the Worcester/Worcestershire Roll of Honour Book for army casualties located in Worcester Cathedral.

Frederick Oscar Pritchard was born on 26th October 1864 to Eva Pritchard at a small Hamlet 14 miles from Worcester called Pensax. Most of his early life was spent living with his Grandparents, William and Sarah Pritchard in the village. The house where they lived was next- door to the local Primary School which in fact is where Frederick Oscar went to school. The house and School buildings are still there, although the School is empty and being renovated.

Frederick was a member of the local Church Choir for 12 years. According to the 1911 Census he was listed as a Collier aged 17 years, at one of the local mines.

On 1st March 1915 he joined the Birmingham City Police and he was stationed at Duke Street Police Station. (This is where part of Aston University now stands). His collar No was D157, the D denoting the Division he belonged to. His accommodation was at the rear of the Police Station. His starting pay at that time was 29 shillings a week rising to 30 shillings in February 1916.

On 21st February 1917 he married Lily Beatrice Yeomans at Birmingham Registry Office. Lily was working as a Barmaid at The Old Peacock Hotel which was near to the Police Station. On 5th March 1917 Frederick resigned from the Police Force and joined H.M. Forces enlisting with the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, Service No 21909. His experiences in H.M. Forces are not known at present, however sadly on or since 27th November 1917 he was killed/died during hostilities in the Battle of Cambrai. He is commemorated on the Cambrai Memorial at Louverval, France. We had the opportunity in 2001 to visit the Memorial which was quite a moving experience and we were able to pay our respects.

Frederick Pritchard has no known grave, the photograph available shows his name on Cambrai Memorial.