Bertrand Hatton West
Baptised: Abode:
Son of:
23rd August 1885 at St Saviours Church, Leicester 16 St Saviours Terrace, Leicester
Alfred and Clara (nee Foster) West
Siblings:
Reginald Alfred West Frederick Victor West Dorothy Mabel West
11thSep 1883 – 6thMay 1964
23rd Sep 1887 – 1st Nov 1945 23rd Dec 1891 – (Jan-Mar) 1967
Census 1891 Abode:
Census 1901 Abode:
Census 1911 Abode:
Cannon Villa, (125) St Saviours Road, Leicester Built in 1885
125, St Saviours Road, Leicester
125, St Saviours Road, Leicester Bertrand, Single, Aged 25, Railway Clerk
Occupation: Clerk in Goods Dept. Leicester Midland Railway Station
Will: 18thDec 1915
Abode: Glyngarth, Sandown Road, Leicester. Enlisted: Leicester
Corporal, Service No: C/1301 Regiment 16thBattalion Kings Royal Rifle Corps
Death 26th/2?1hSeptember 1917
Probate: Granted 15thMarch 1918 CWGC Tyne Cot Memorial, Panel 116
Memorials: Stained Glass Window, St Saviours Church, Leicester Commissioned by family
reads:
To the Glory of God and in memory of Bertrand Hatton West, a Corporal 16th Battalion Kings Royal Rifle Corps who fell in action at Poelcappelle, Belgium
Sept 26th1917 during the great European War
Midland Railway, Book of Remembrance and Midland Railway Memorial, Derby
Bertrand Hatton (Maternal Great Grandmas Maiden Name) WEST,
second son of Alfred and Clara (nee Foster) West
His father Alfred, born in 1858, in Barnetby le Wold, Lines moved to Leicester after his
fathers death in 1869, and was living in Friar Lane, Leicester in 1881, occupation Tailor shopman.
Mother Clara, born in Leicester in 1857, was living in West Bond Street in 1881, occupation Machinist.
Alfred and Clara were married on 26th Dec 1882, at St Saviours Church. Leicester.
In 1891, residing at Cannon Villa,125 St Saviours Road, built in 1885. Bertrand was living with his parents, elder brother Reginald and younger brother Frederick. His fathers occupation,Yarn Salesman.
By 1901, the family had increased with the birth of his sister, Dorothy.
His brother Reginald married in September 1906, and less than a year later in 1907, when Bertrand was 21, his mother, Clara died at home, 125 St Saviour Street,
In 1911, Dorothy was keeping home for her father, Bertrand and Frederick
By December 1915, Bertrands’ home was recorded as Glyngarth, Sandown Road, Leicester on his will, made presumably before he entered the theatre of war, he bequeathed all of his assets to his sister, Dorothy, upon his demise. He had amassed a substantial estate, whilst
working for the Midland Railway, as a clerk in the goods dept. obviously a very wise young man
Bertrand was a Corporal in the 16th Battalion, Kings Royal Rifle Corps, which was attached to the 100th Brigade/ 33rd Division.
The Battle of Polygon Wood commenced on the 26th Sep 1917
The Action of the 25th September 1917 took place between Menin road and Polygon Wood as the 33rd Division was taking over from the 23rd Division and for a time threatened to delay preparations for the British Attack due the next day. Some ground was captured by the
Germans and part of it was then recaptured by the 33rd Division. Plumer ordered that the flank guard protecting the 1 Anzac Corps on the 26th September be formed by the 98th Brigade
of the 33rd Division, while the 100th Brigade recaptured the lost ground.
Sadly, between 26th-27th September 1917, Bertrand became a casualty of War.
At the time of Bertrands’ probate, his father, Alfred, and Dorothy were still living at Glyngarth. Frederick had risen to the rank of Lieutenant in the Duke of Wellingtons Regiment The devastating loss of Bertrand much have led them to donate a stained glass window to be erected in St Saviours Church, to commemorate their loved one.
His father, Alfred died on the 6th Jan 1926 and is buried in Welford Road Cemetery. Dorothy, never married, and remained in Leicester until her death in 1967.
