207877 Pte. Frederick William Gamage British Army 2nd Battalion Border Regiment from:Shoreditch, London (d.1st July 1916) Frederick William Gamage was born in November 1872 in Shoreditch Middlesex; he was the son of John Smith Gamage and Sarah Harriet (nee Arnold). At the age of 19 he enlisted in the Army and is described as 5ft 61/4 inches tall weighing 119 lbs, dark brown hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion. He was posted to Hamilton in Scotland to join the Cameroon’s (Scottish Rifles). He was soon struck down with bronchitis and was in hospital until Feb 1892. Soon after being released from hospital he was transferred to 2nd Border Regiment and became Pte. Gamage 3808. He soon embarked for India and was stationed in Mooltan but was again hospitalized. He was discharged from hospital and sent back to England and discharged from the Army as an invalid in 1894. He married Annie Law in London in 1896 and had 9 children. At the outbreak of war he enlisted again at the age of 37 years and was posted into his old battalion 2nd Border Regiment. He served in France at Neuve Chapelle but was he was invalided back to England once again in 1915. During this time he was granted leave to visit his family but overstayed his pass and became an absentee but no action was taken. There is also a note to say the he was claimed to have enlisted fraudulently†but a memorandum was sent to Preston saying that “he was serving with the expeditionary force†and no further action was taken once again.
We find him in trouble again when he is absent without leave in December 1915 and this time he had to forfeit 22 days pay and 14 days field punishment. During this punishment he escaped and went absent without leave again on 17 December 1915 until 16th January 1916 during which time he sold his uniform and equipment. This time when he was captured he was tried for being absent and losing his clothing and regimental necessaries and sentenced to 56 days detention.
On the 28th of April 1916 Private Gamage embarked on a troopship for France and by the end of June 1916 was billeted in the village of Morlancourt. On the 30th of June 1916 the battalion was moved up to the front line for the attack on the village of Mametz in what was to be the biggest battle the world had ever seen, the Battle of the Somme.
At 7.30 on the morning of 1st July 1916, the hottest day imaginable, after intense bombing all along the front, tens of thousands of British soldiers climbed out of their trenches to the shrilling sound of whistles and the sun glinting on their bayonets, advanced in a line.
Private Frederick Gamage was among the soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 14 Platoon D company, of the Border Regiment 7th Division on the fateful day. They came under heavy machine gun fire from Hidden Wood. Sadly Pte Gamage was one of the casualties being posted as “wounded and missing†on the morning of the attack. His body was never recovered and he is now commemorated at the Theipval Memorial in France. I was lucky enough to go and see this for myself 2011
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