G/4148 Private Richard Kedge of the 6th Battalion, The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) was killed in action on the 8th July 1916. He was born in the village of Bergh Apton near Norwich, and enlisted at Norwich. His number dates to the first two weeks of January 1915 and he arrived in France on the 27th April that year.
Considerable independent research has been done on the men of Bergh Apton (or Berghapton) who died during WW1 and WW2 and this has been published on the Bergh Apton page on the Roll of Honour website. Richard Kedge is recorded here as Sidney Richard Kedge and the information reads:
Sidney was killed, aged 21, on Saturday, 8th July 1916. His body was never found and he is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial.
We can at present find no village connection to explain why he is on the memorial in Bergh Apton but there is only one man of this name in the entire Commonwealth War Graves Commission record for the First World War so it is likely to be him.
A man of the right age was born in Eynsford in Kent whose father Richard Kedge was a farm labourer and his work might have brought him to Bergh Apton. We shall keep searching for the reason amongst the records.
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.
Sources:
Ancestry (MIC)
Soldiers Died in The Great War
Army Service Numbers
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Roll of Honour
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2 comments:
Happy to help by clearing up the puzzle of Sidney Kedge's connections with Bergh Apton.
His parents Richard and Harriet (nee Stanford) were both from Mulbarton farm labouring families. He was, as you record, born in Eynsford in Kent (in the lodge on Lower Austin Farm). His mother died when he was but 6 months old and we can find no record of what happened to his father thereafter. Sidney ('Dickie' in the family) came back to Norfolk and was raised by his mother's sister Hannah Shingles. The family was in Bergh Apton (on Cooke's Road) in the 1911 Census and were there in 1915 when Sidney died near Ovillers-la-Boiselle. John Ling, Bergh Apton (john.ling@btinternet.com)
John, thank you very much for your comments on this post.
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