2nd Battalion, King’s Shropshire Light Infantry
Gilbert Raymond Large was born in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire on 15 March 1898. He was one of three children (second son) of George E and Ada Ellen Large and the family lived at Rockness Hill, Nailsworth. His father was a leather worker.
We know little of Private Large’s service record, as his is one of those destroyed in the bombing of London in 1940. However, his Medal Index Card (MIC) does show that he went to France on 4 April 1915 and that at that time he was probably serving as a Private (number R/4/066361) with the Army Service Corps. The pre-fix ‘R’ indicates that he had a role within the Army Remounts section, which dealt with the procurement and supply of horses to meet the needs of the Army.
If the MIC date for initial service overseas is correct Gilbert would have been only just 17 when he went to the Western Front. Army recruits were supposed to be 18 or over and could not be sent abroad until 19 or more. Many lied about their age to enlist and it would appear that Gilbert Large was one of these but in the absence of his original attestation form, this cannot be confirmed.
It is not known at what point he transferred to the 2nd Battalion, King’s Shropshire Light Infantry. However, it is known that this battalion served on the Western Front from December 1914 and transferred to the Salonika Front (in northern Greece, where it faced the Bulgarians) on 4 December 1915, remaining in that area for the remainder of the war.
The Salonika Front was extremely unhealthy, as the swampy ground bred mosquitos and many men suffered from malaria and other sicknesses. It is not known if Gilbert Large’s health suffered as a result of his service there. According to his MIC he transferred to the Army Reserve on 27 September 1919 and six months later he was dead, cause unknown.
He died at Nailsworth on 5 March 1920, ten days short of his twenty-second birthday. His funeral was held on 11 March and he was buried in the churchyard of Shortwood (All Saints) Church, where a standard CWGC headstone marks his grave. He is commemorated on the Nailsworth War Memorial.
Researched by Graham Adams 9 May 2014