25th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment
William Gardiner was serving in the Army for almost a year following the November 1918 Armistice and died about two and a half years after it. Whilst he was still considered a casualty of the war, very little documentary evidence of his service appears to have survived.
William Gardiner was born at Cirencester in 1883 (he was baptised on 1 July 1883). His parents were Joseph (a labourer) and his wife Sarah. The 1891 Census shows the family, consisting of parents and six children living in School Lane, Cirencester. It has not proved possible to identify William in the 1901 Census.
In the second quarter of 1904 William married Margaret Kate Fisher and the 1911 Census shows them living at 37 School Lane, Watermoor, Cirencester, with their two sons, aged five and three. William’s occupation was shown as a gas works labourer.
As no Army Service or Pension Record appears to have survived for William it is not known when he joined the Army or any details of his service.
He has a Medal Rolls Index Card, which notes entitlement to the Victory Medal, which was proof that he served in either or both a theatre of war between 5 August 1914 and 11 November 1918 and the intervention in the Russian Civil War up to 1 July 1920.
According to the CWGC Register he served with the 25th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment. This was originally formed as a Reserve Battalion and in 1916 was located at Aldershot as a Garrison Battalion (part of 213 Brigade, 71 Division). In December 1916 the battalion was posted to the Far East, arriving in Hong Kong on 1 April 1917, having left two companies in Singapore. On 3 August 1918 it was despatched to Siberia, where it remained until September 1919, then returning to the UK.
A recently released Pension Record Card (PRC) notes that William was discharged from the Army on 13 October 1919. Whether he was demobilised then (and placed in the Reserve) or it was due to sickness is not known. His address was stated to be 20 Watermoor Road, Cirencester.
He died from pulmonary tuberculosis on 13 May 1921, aged 37. The PRC notes that his widow was granted a pension from 29 October 1920, which implies that his illness was considered to be related to active service.
Corporal William Gardiner was buried in Cirencester (Chesterton) Cemetery on 17 May 1921, where a standard CWGC headstone now marks his grave.
Researched by Graham Adams 27 April 2021