Bertie Walter Gorrod

A Private with the 6th Battalion, Bertie died on 21st of March 1918 at the age of 31. 

Bertie was born at Lowestoft on 7 December 1887, a son of Raca and Emma Gorrod. He was baptised at Saint Peter's Church, Kirkley, on 12 March 1887, and his family lived at 2 Newsom’s Buildings, Kirkley. In 1891 his family lived at 1 Southwell Road. Around 1891 Bertie became a pupil at Kirkley School. In 1901 his family lived at 20 Southwell Road and Bertie was a greengrocer on his ‘own account.’ By 1911 they were living at 16 Southwell Road and Bertie was a nurseryman. 

On 5 August 1912 Bertie married Anna Edith Watling at Westwick, Norfolk. Bertie was a gardener, living at Kirkley, and Anna lived at Westwick. Later Anna’s address was 3 Kings Cottages, The Avenue, and, subsequently, 152 The Avenue.

Bertie enlisted in the Army at Richmond. He joined the Suffolk Regiment, service number 34806. Bertie was transferred to the King’s Shropshire Light Infantry and posted to the 5th Battalion in France. He was wounded in late 1917 and his name appears in the official casualty list, the War Office Daily List, dated 27 December 1917. Once recovered Bertie served with the 6th Battalion in XIII Platoon, B company. 

On 7 March 1918 the 6th Battalion arrived at Gugny and spent several days works on Corps defences. Around 12 noon on 21 March the battalion were ordered to man battle stations, and they moved to positions around 2 p.m. They occupied quarries near Bray St. Christophe. B Company were in the centre by Le Tordoir. The next morning was misty and when this cleared, about 1.30 p.m., the Germans attacked the Irish regiments in positions in front of the battalion. The Irish regiments fell back, but the battalion held their positions. At 7.30 p.m. the enemy attacked the battalion from a sunken road at Happencourt, but were repelled with machine-gun fire. At 8.30 p.m. the battalion withdrew and begin digging in from Bray St. Christophe to Aubigny, with B Company in the centre. About midnight enemy patrols managed to creep up to the battalion’s positions and opened fire with rifles and machine-guns. The enemy managed to get in behind B Company, surrounding them, and practically the whole company, with all the officers, was taken prisoner. 

Enquiries with the Red Cross state that Bertie was wounded and missing on 21 March and later it was presumed that he had been killed in action on, or since, that date.       

Bertie's brother Charles died in 1914 in the loss of the trawler Speculator.