51st (Graduated) Battalion, Hampshire Regiment
Frederick Charles Redvers Morgan was born in Gloucester in the third quarter of 1900, the son of Charles Morgan and his wife Alice Elizabeth (née Carver). As far is can be ascertained the couple had two children, Frederick and his sister Nora Glenis A (born 1913). At the time of the 1911 Census Charles Morgan was a railway platelayer with the Great Western Railway works and the family lived at 45 Millbrook Street, Gloucester.
Frederick would have been liable for conscription for military service once he reached the age of 18 and 30 days would have been sent to a training unit, in this instance the 51st (Graduated) Battalion, Hampshire Regiment. From March 1918 onwards this unit had been based at Foxhall Heath, Ipswich, as part of 201 Brigade, 67 Division.
The Register of Deaths and an entry in the Gloucester Journal of 16 November 1918 confirmed that he died (aged 18) on 13 November 1918 at Colchester, Essex. The latter location had a large military base and hospital. The influenza pandemic was rife at the end of 1918 and it is possible that Frederick was a victim of this. As it is likely that he did not enter military service until around September or October 1918, his Army career lasted a matter of weeks.
He was buried in Gloucester Old Cemetery, where a standard CWGC headstone marks his grave.
Researched by Graham Adams 23 August 2019