3rd ‘A’ Reserve Brigade, Royal Field Artillery
Daniel Woodward was born in Gloucester in 1877 and was the son of William Woodward (1845-1915), a blacksmith and his wife Grace (née Powell: 1844-1918). He had three sisters.
He appears to have followed his father to become a blacksmith. On 3 April 1899 he married Mary Eliza Trenbirth (1875-1953) at All Saints’ Church, Gloucester and they had eight children who were all boys except one.
The 1911 Census records the family living at 128 Linden Road, Tredworth, Gloucester although sadly one of their eight children had died. Daniel’s occupation is shown as a ‘blacksmith’s striker’ with the Gloucester Waggon Works.
Unfortunately very little documentary evidence of Daniel’s Army service has survived. Soldiers Died in the Great War records that when he first joined the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) he was given the number 1970 and that he enlisted in Gloucester.
He possibly served with either 240 or 305 Brigade, who were part of the Divisional Artillery for 48th (South Midland) Division, a Territorial Force unit, with many of its personnel originating from Gloucestershire.
In 1917 the members of the Territorial Force were re-numbered, with six figure numbers and Daniel’s became 825677. He rose to the rank of Acting Sergeant during his time with the RFA and probably saw action during the Somme Offensive of 1916, the German Retreat to the Hindenburg Line in early 1917 and the battles of Third Ypres later that year.
Daniel also saw service with the Labour Corps (where his Medal Rolls Index Card indicates that he served as a Corporal, with the number 825677).
The transfer suggests that he was downgraded medically and declared unfit for front line service and his final posting in the RFA was to the 3rd ‘A’ Reserve Brigade.
A good insight into his service was contained in a report of his funeral which appeared in the Gloucester Journal of 13 July 1918. It stated that he joined up in 1914 and saw active service in France.
He had suffered gas poisoning and had spent time in Sunderland VAD Hospital in Durham and the Red Cross hospital at Winchester, where he died, on 3 July 1918, aged 41, following an operation.
Acting Sergeant Daniel Woodward’s body was brought home to Gloucester by rail and he was given a semi-military funeral, the first part being at St Nicholas’ Church and the second at Gloucester Old Cemetery, where he was buried.
A standard CWGC headstone marks his grave and he is commemorated on the Gloucester War Memorial.
His last residence in Gloucester was at 43 St Catherine Street.
Research by Graham Adams 10 March 2020