3rd South Midland Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps (TF)
Harry Gilbert Bick was born at Sharpness in second quarter of 1887. He was the son of John and Fanny Maria Bick, who had ten children, all but one having survived up to the time of the 1911 Census. At the time of the 1891 Census the family lived at New Street, Berkeley.
Harry’s mother died in 1905, age 49, and at the time of the 1911 Census, he was living at 4 Hope Cottages, New Street, Sharpness, along with his father. Both Harry and his father were shown as being dock labourers, no doubt at the nearby Sharpness Docks.
It is possible that Harry was a member of the Territorial Force prior to the outbreak of the Great War and according to Soldiers Died in the Great War he enlisted in Bristol. His Army Service Record has not survived and there is no Medal Index Card, which is a probable indicator that he did not serve overseas. Possibly he was prevented by illness.
According to a death notice in the Cheltenham Chronicle of 1 May 1915, Harry died in St Thomas’ Hospital, London. There appears to be some confusion with regard to the date of death. The CWGC Register states this to be 21 April 1915 (as does Soldiers Died in the Great War), however, the date on his private headstone in Gloucester Old Cemetery states it to be 22 April 1915, age 28. A recently released Pension Record Card states the date to be 21 April 1915 and the cause of death, appendicitis.
The Probate Register gives his address at the date of death as 46 Adelaide Street, Gloucester, whereas the CWGC Register states it to be 17 Wellington Street, Gloucester (although this may be the address of his father, when the Register was compiled in the early 1920s).
Harry Bick is commemorated on the Berkeley War Memorial, inside the Parish church.
Researched by Graham Adams 17 June 2014 (revised 26 July 2021)