2/5th (Territorial) Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment
Brian Fitzgerald Ventris-Field was the son of Alfred Ventris-Field a surgeon-chiropodist who practised at 6 Rodney Place in Cheltenham. Brian, along with his brother Victor, worked at the Gloucestershire Echo before enlisting together in the 2/5th (Territorial) Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment on 21 September 1914.
They went overseas to France in May 1916 and after serving in an Infantry Company the brothers transferred to the Field Mortar Section.
In April 1917 the battalion was in the line at Bihecourt and on the 6th of the month a shell burst close to Brian wounding him severely. He was evacuated from the front line and one of his legs was amputated. Sadly, he was unable to make a full recovery from his wounds. Private Brian Fitzgerald Ventris-Field died on 4 May and he is buried at Cayeux Military Cemetery.
Victor was also wounded but recovered from his wounds to return to the Western Front only to be taken prisoner in 1918. He survived the war and became editor of the Regimental Magazine.