Worcestershire Regiment
Private Arthur Strain is an enigma, principally as he appears to have undertaken his Army service under the assumed name of ‘E C Goodwin’. There could be a number of reasons for this but usually those seeking anonymity were usually seeking to hide from the law; had deserted from military service earlier; were seeking to escape from creditors or possibly an unhappy marriage or relationship. In Arthur Strain’s case we do not know if it was indeed any of the above.
Arthur Strain appears to have been born in Gloucester on 16 May 1893, in the parish of St Paul’s, where he was baptised on 2 June 1893. His father was Charles Strain (a labourer) and his mother Martha Ann (née Hatton). According to the 1901 Census the couple lived at 30 Moreton Street in the Tredworth district of Gloucester, along with three of their four children (Charles (12), Arthur (7) and Martha Alice (5). There was also an elder daughter, Amelia Elizabeth, living elsewhere who was about 15.
Charles (senior) died in 1908, at the age of 55. At the time of the 1911 Census the family had moved to nearby 55 Ducie Street. This address appeared to house 12 people, made up of six members of the Strain family, including all the children, plus six lodgers. The only family member in employment (with a gas company) was the eldest son, Charles.
Evidence that Arthur had time on his hands comes from a report in the Gloucestershire Echo of 11 August 1911. Arthur, plus a companion, were summonsed to appear at Gloucester Petty Sessions for obstructing the footway in High Street, Tredworth on 5 August. Evidently they had been warned previously about this behaviour, which had given rise to complaints from passers- by. A fine of one shilling or three days in prison was imposed.
No details of Arthur’s Army service have been traced, other than the CWGC register, which states that he served with the Worcestershire Regiment – this is following searches under both the names of Strain and Goodwin. The CWGC Register shows his service number to be 5244010, which is unusually long and if the first digit is disregarded then the remaining number would indicate service with a Territorial Force battalion and in the case of the Worcestershire Regiment this could be the 8th Battalion. The absence of any Medal Rolls Index Card does indicate that Arthur Strain did not serve abroad and therefore he may well have been with the 3/8th Battalion of the Worcesters, who spent the second half of the war in the Northumberland area.
Although there is no evidence of discharge from the Army due to sickness or wounds and no Pension Record there must have been a reason for Arthur appearing in the CWGC Register and his grave bearing a standard CWGC headstone (see below). According to the Electoral Register for Gloucester in 1918 both Arthur and brother were living at 55 Ducie Street. The CWGC Register records him as being the son of Mrs M A Strain, of 12 Ducie Street.
The Register of Deaths indicates that Arthur died in the Worcester registration district on 22 February 1921, cause unknown, when he would have been 27. He was later buried in Gloucester Old Cemetery but the newspapers of the time do not carry any death notice or funeral reports.
In late 2018 Pension Record Cards relating to military service were released via the Ancestry website. It would appear that there were originally four cards relating to Private Arthur Strain. These do reveal some further information but at the same time add to the confusion! There are two cards with a reference to him as a Private in the Worcesters, with the number 5244010. That with the reference 6/D/5583 relates to a claim by his mother for a ‘dependent’s pension’. It gives her name as Mrs Martha A Strain and her address 86 Holborn Hill, Nechells, Birmingham. It correctly states the date of death as 22 February 1921 and the cause of death to be ‘gastric ulcers’. It also confirms Private Swain was single. The other card relating to 5244010 Private Arthur Swain of the Worcestershire Regiment is 6/MS/8624 and this is endorsed ‘cancelled see 6/MS/7139’ and ‘transferred to Dependant’s Branch 30.9.21’.
Record card 6/MS/7139 is in the name of Private Arthur Strain, with the number 9599 in the Gloucestershire Regiment, who was born in 1893 and who was discharged from the Army on 8 February 1919. His stated address was ‘Holbro?e Hall, Acton, Birmingham’. It also shows his disability to be malaria and the card is endorsed ‘transfer S W (South West) Region 21.1.21’. The other record card relating to 9599 Private Arthur Swain of the Glosters is referenced 6/MS/6535. It confirms the discharge date shown in the above card, also the year of birth, the attributable disability being malaria and the correct date of death. However, it notes the address to be 12 Ducie Street, Tredworth, Gloucester, which matches that shown as his mother’s address in the CWGC records. The card notes the award of a 30% incapacity disability pension of 12 shillings per week from 9 February 1921 (possibly an interim award). The card is endorsed ‘5.7.21 transfer to Midland Region’ and there is a cross referencing to 6/MS/7139 and 6/D/5583.
It would appear certain that all four cards relate to the same person, notwithstanding the conflict regarding the reason for the disability. Could it be that Arthur Strain was originally recruited into the Gloucestershire Regiment (his relatively low number would indicate that he could have enlisted in 1911) and at some point he either deserted or was recalled from the Reserve but did not wish to rejoin the Gloucesters and joined the Worcestershire Regiment under the assumed name of Goodwin and that post-war this fact emerged and that his contact with the pension authorities was under his actual (rather than assumed) name?
Researched by Graham Adams 23 January 2019 (revised)