Peasants to Puddles
My Family History - By Nicky Rowberry

Frederick Stevenson - Driver 42378

This page is dedicated to the memory of Frederick Stevenson who died on 5th March 1918.

Frederick Stevenson died on 5th March 1918 at a military hospital in Chatham. He was unfortunately one of the casualties amongst the millions of men who lost their lives in World War 1. It seemed sad for him to have died and all but these bare facts remembered, so I've tried to find out at least a little about his life before his untimely death aged just 34.

Frederick Stevenson was born on 21st February 1884 at Chard Street, Basford in Nottinghamshire. He was the 2nd of 7 known children of Frederick Lever Stevenson and his wife Kate (or Catherine) Brown. His father Frederick was a labourer often working with asphalt on the roads. By 1891 the family were living in Olive Square off Kirkman's Place in Basford and young Frederick Stevenson was at school. In 1901 the family were living at 4 Elson Terrace. The oldest daughter Emma had already married and moved out, and young Frederick Stevenson was now working as a labourer too, aged 16.

By 1911 Frederick's mother Kate had died and the family had dispersed. His widowed father was living alone, although he did remarry the following year. Frederick Stevenson was working as a bricklayer's labourer and lodging with a family on Suez Street in Basford.

War broke out in the summer of 1914 and by 4th August Britain had declared war on Germany. Although many WW1 service records were destroyed in a bombing raid in WW2, luckily Frederick's survived. They show that he was actually in the militia as a young man, and enlisted for short service in March 1906. At that time of his enlistment, he was said to be working as a brass moulder. The records give a brief description of him - height 5 feet 5 inches, weight 147lbs, physical development good, size 8 feet, fresh complexion, with brown eyes and brown hair. It looks like he served until March 1909 at which point he was transferred to the army reserves. With the outbreak of war, he was mobilised on 5th August 1914. The records are very faint and hard to read, but during the war he had periods of time in France and some in the UK. He suffered from bronchitis on and off through the war and was first admitted to hospital in April 1916. He was sent back to the UK from Etaples in France in November 1917. Between the 28th February 1918 and his death on 5th March from TB, he "gradually became worse and died from exhaustion". His file contains a transcript of the fairly blunt telegram that was sent to his father:

Regret to inform you that your son 42378 Driver Frederick Stevenson died yesterday at Fort Pitt Hospital Chatham. Letter follows. Please communicate with hospital regarding funeral. From Artillery Records.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission website confirms that during the war, he was a Driver in the 1st Division Ammunition Company of the Royal Field Artillery and that his regimental number was 42378. I can't reproduce the CWGC photo of the cemetery, but to see his page please click here.

You can now look at the Medal Roll cards from the first world war online. These show a soldier's name, rank and what medals they were entitled to. Due to copyright issues, I don't think I can reproduce the image of the medal card, so instead I've transcribed it:

His medal card suggests he would have been entitled to 3 medals. The British Medal was awarded to servicemen who served in a theatre of war between 5th August 1914 and 11th November 1918. The Victory Medal (Allied Victory Medal) was awarded for service in any operational theatre over the same time frame. The Star was awarded to all those who served in any theatre of war against Germany between 5th August 1914 and 31st December 1915. The medal card also details that he was was one of the early enlisters as he qualified from 19th August 1914.

Frederick's death was reported in the local newspapers. The image below is taken from the Nottingham Evening Post on 7th March 1918. Image © Reach PLC. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. Image reproduced with kind permission of The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)

He was clearly a popular chap for his friends at his local pub to put a notice in the paper expressing their sorrow at his passing.

Frederick was one of the lucky few who at least got to be buried back in his home town of Basford. As well as his individual gravestone in Basford Cemetery, he is also commemorated on the St Leodegarius Church War Memorial. Frederick was one of 6 cousins who made the ultimate sacrifice in WW1; the Stevenson family paid a heavy price.

His service records contain a list of his personal possessions at the time of his death - drawers, socks, belts, a fork and table knife, spoon, pair of braces, hair brush, shaving brushes & soap, tooth brush, comb, 3 razors and 2 handkerchiefs - all the typical things a soldier might have. The final piece of documentation I could find for Frederick was the Army Register of Soldiers' Effects. This document showed that at the time of his death he had £21.6s.7d plus £21 war gratuity, which was divided between his father and siblings. Not much to show for the ultimate sacrifice.

So far I've not been able to find a photo of Frederick. It would be lovely to be able to complete his story with a photograph of him. So if anyone has a photo of Frederick Stevenson, please do get in touch. E-mail: n.rowberry@btinternet.com

In researching Frederick's life, several sites have been invaluable, so I've included links to some of them here.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission:

The National Archives at Kew:

The British Newspaper Archive:

If any of the above is of further interest, please feel free to contact me at: n.rowberry@btinternet.com

Nicky Rowberry 2025

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Peasants to Puddles - My Family History. By Nicky Rowberry