3/6th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment
Reginald Percy James Cambridge was born in Gloucester in the first half of 1895 and it is known he was baptised on 11 April 1915. He was the son of Thomas Lane Cambridge, a plumber, glazier and carpenter and his wife Sarah (née Chappel), who lived at Walton House, Southgate Street,
Gloucester. The couple had four children and Reginald was the younger of two sons.
Unfortunately no service record for Reginald has survived but it would appear likely that he attested under ‘Lord Derby’s Scheme’, aged 20, in late 1915 and was called up in early 1916. He was posted to the 3/6th (Reserve) Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment, where he would undertake training prior to going abroad. It appears unlikely that his service number of 5414 is accurate, as this would indicate entry into the regiment either prior to or early in the war; maybe a digit is missing?
According to his death notice in the Gloucestershire Chronicle of 8 July 1916 he died (on 2 July 1916, age 21) ‘after six days illness’. We know from his entry in the Register of Soldier’s Effects that the cause of death was appendicitis and that he died at Tidworth Military Hospital.
He was buried in Gloucester Old Cemetery, where a private headstone was erected over his grave. This also commemorates the death of his father (in 1925) and mother (1936). Reginald is commemorated on the Gloucester War Memorial.
Researched by Graham Adams 23 October 2016