On this day in 1917, Reginald Thomas Reed (1898-1917) died from pneumonia while serving as a private in the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment.
He was just 19 when he died in hospital in Devonport on March 4, 1917.
He is remembered on his parents’ grave at St Catherine’s Churchyard, Withleigh in Devon, He is not commemorated on any war memorial, but is remembered on the Devon Roll of Honour.
Mobilised at the outbreak of war, the 3rd Devons manned positions along the South West coastline to defend Britain against invasion.
The 3rd Devons never went overseas in the Great War. But between 1914 and 1918, they trained 750 officers and more than 13,000 men who served on the Western Front and beyond.
Born in Tiverton in 1898, Reginald was the son of farmer Richard Tossel Reed (1860-1932) and Elizabeth Tucker (1857-1935).
In 1911, aged 13, he lived with his family at Holmead Farm, Tiverton.
Paul Roberts
NOTE
Reginald’s sister, Lillie Reed (1886-1952), born in Meshaw, married John Sharland (1897-1962) in 1936 in Tiverton, when she was 50. John was the son of Walter Sharland (1869-1951) and Jane Hunt (1866-1912). Walter was the son of James Sharland (1839-1907) and Eliza Crook (1843-1923). Eliza was the daughter of Richard Crook (1810-1883) and Charity Roberts (1818-1883). Charity was the daughter of William Roberts (1779-1848) and Sarah Treble (1784-1861). William was the son of William Roberts (1738-), my great-great-great-great-great grandfather.
Picture below
How Reginald Thomas Reed is remembered on his parents’ grave in Withleigh. Picture on Find a Grave by Sprayerman.