Royal Navy – HMS Bellona
Frederick Caleb Gregory was born on 15 January 1888 at Tewkesbury, the son of Benjamin Thomas Gregory and Ann (née Bassett).
On 15 October 1906 Frederick enlisted in the Royal Navy, as Stoker, on terms of a five year engagement plus seven in the Reserve. He left the Navy in October 1911 at Devonport.
Upon the outbreak of War he was recalled on 5 August 1914 and served until invalided out on 7 November 1917. The reason is present in his Service Record (National Archives file ADM188/1109) but it is not decipherable. He would appear to have served aboard the pre-Dreadnought battleship HMS Ocean (which was sunk at the Dardanelles), the cruiser HMS Dublin and finally on the ‘Boadicea’ class scout cruiser, HMS Bellona, launched in 1909. This ship was present at the Battle of Jutland but saw no action: it was converted to a minelayer in June 1917.
In the interval years between his service, Frederick married Marie Louise Elliott at St Mary’s Church, Newent on 21 February 1914. They lived at Southgate Street, Gloucester and Frederick worked as a gentleman’s chauffeur. He was 26 years when he married and his bride 33. In 1919, Mary had a daughter, Edith.
There is some useful family history information placed on the Ancestry website. This includes an undated article from the Gloucester Citizen (undated but prior to 2000) which states that Frederick had been wounded, prior to his discharge from the Navy and never fully recovered his health. He appeared to have taken up other employment but the nature of this is unknown.
He died in Gloucester Royal Infirmary of influenza and bronchial-pneumonia on 13 March 1920, age 33 He is commemorated on the memorial in Tewkesbury Abbey and his grave is located in the World War One plot in Gloucester Old Cemetery, marked by a CWGC headstone.
His widow lived until 1965 and died in Gloucester.
Researched by Graham Adams 20 January 2012