11th (Reserve) Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment
Richard (Dick) Bick was born at Rodborough, in the second quarter of 1876. Curiously, although he is shown in the CWGC Register as ‘Richard’ in the BMD Register he is shown as being called ‘Dick’ (for birth and death) and his baptismal record also shows the name Dick.
His father was called Richard and possibly the younger Richard was always referred to as ‘Dick’ to distinguish him. Father Richard was a general labourer, married to Jane and the couple had five children, of whom only three were living at the time of the 1911 Census. They lived at Tabernacle Walk, Rodborough.
As no Army Service Record has survived for Private Dick Bick, the biographical information we have comes from the report of his funeral contained in the Gloucester Journal dated 17 April 1915.
It would appear that Dick joined the Army in his late teens, having initially been employed as an office boy and served for 13 years with the 1st Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment, when, no doubt he was posted to various parts of the Empire and may have served in the South African War, at the turn of the century. When his agreed term of service expired he left the Army and became a coal miner in South Wales. The 1911 Welsh Census records him as living as a boarder with a miner and his family at 7 Woodland Terrace, Abertridwr, Glamorgan (which is near Caerphilly). It notes that he is unmarried and a fellow boarder originated from Cheltenham.
When war was declared he re-enlisted in the Army and was posted to 11th (Reserve) Battalion, which had been formed in Woolwich, early in the war and was part of 106 Brigade, 35 Division. The above newspaper report states that he was stationed at White City in London but this has not been confirmed. Evidently he fell ill in early 1915 (whilst training) and died (from acute hepatitis and jaundice*) at the home of his parents in Rodborough, on 7 April 1915, aged 38.
He was given a military funeral, with firing party and playing of the Last Post and a party from the newly formed Gloucester & Worcester Brigade Company, Army Service Corps were in attendance.
He was interred in the parish churchyard, where a CWGC headstone (inscribed with the name R Bick) marks his grave.
Researched by Graham Adams 11 November 2020 (revised)