Hurdwell Alfred 1917

Alfred Richard Hurdwell was born in 1896, the eldest son of John and Edith, he had 5 sisters and 2 brothers. In 1911 he was 15 and a horseman on a farm, his father was a labourer and lived in Honey Hill Wokingham. He joined the 2/4th bn Royal Berkshire Regiment (number 200139) and was killed in Belgium whilst fighting with the battalion on 22 August 1917. Details of the action can be found on www.purley.eu. His name is commemorated on the Memorial to the missing at Tyne Cot, Belgium.

Heather White, his niece provides the following information about Alfred:

“…I have a photograph of Alfred with his sweetheart Hetty Fisher which had been given to one of his sisters and was found in my late mothers belongings when she passed away. I knew all but one of his brothers and sisters who stayed in contact with one another all of their lives. My mother was born at Honey Hill Cottages where the family lived and my two brothers, my sister and myself were also born there. The cottages were part of the Easthampstead estate belonging to Lord Downshire. My grandfather John Hurdwell died in September 1940 shortly after my birth, following an accident on a Hay Cart (described the Coroner as a Hay Lorry). I was told it was a Hay Cart by my cousin Doris Walder who was present at the time”.

Name: HURDWELL, ALFRED
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Private
Regiment/Service: Royal Berkshire Regiment
Unit Text: 2nd/4th Bn.
Age: 21
Date of Death: 22/08/1917
Service No: 200139 Additional information: Son of John and Edith Mary Hurdwell, of Honey Hill, Wokingham, Berks.
Reference: Addenda Panel. Memorial: TYNE COT MEMORIAL

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