Redford | Arthur Clare Reeve
Biography
Arthur Clare Reeve Redford (Service No. 7686605) died of wounds on 22 April 1945. He was a Sergeant in the Corps of Military Police. He was initially buried at Margraten Cemetery and re-interred on 1 May 1947 in Grave III.A 14. at the CWGC Cemetery in Overloon. His grave is inscribed “If love could have saved Thou would’st not have died. Peggy, Mother, Pamela.”
Family History
Arthur Clare-Reeve Redford was born at 69 York Road, Aldershot on 6 May 1916 to Arthur and Annie Cora Rhoda Redford. He was baptised at St Peter, Paddington, Westminster on 5 Jun 1916. At that time, Arthur and Rhoda (as she was then called) were living at 137 Portsdown Road, Maida Vale. His mother’s maiden name was given as Mason. His father was a Lieutenant in the 11th Middlesex Regiment – but it was also noted that he was of Independent Means.
It is thought that Arthur Redford (Snr) was the son of Alfred Redford and Clara Berry who married in Bury in 1888. In 1891 they were living at 42, Devon Street, Bury, Lancashire. Alfred was born in 1863 in Unsworth, Lancs. and was a Foreman Bleacher. Clara was born in 1868 in Unsworth. With them was their son, Arthur Redford, born on 15 January 1889 in Bury. Alfred, Clara and Arthur couldn’t be found in the 1901 and 1911 censuses. However, an Arthur Redford married Annie C M Mason in Ashton under Lyne, Lancashire in 1912. It is possible that this may be their marriage.
2nd Lieutenant Arthur Redford was awarded the 1915 Star for service in France which began in September 1915. He was then also awarded the British Medal and the Victory Medal at the end of WW1, by which time he was a Lieutenant in the 13th Middlesex Regiment. He was then promoted to Acting Captain. He may previously have been in the Manchester Regiment. He seems to have left the Army by at least June 1921.
In June 1921 Arthur Redford (Snr)’s parents, Alfred and Clara Redford, were living at 25, St Alms Villas, St Pancras, London indicating that the family had moved to London at some point.
However, by June 1921 it seems that young Arthur had been adopted by Ethel Emma Collier and was living at 5, St Mark’s Court, Abbey Road, St. Marylebone, London & Middlesex. Ethel was a widow at this time. She had been born in Wall, near Church Stretton in Shropshire in 1890.
She had married Frederick Herbert Mark Collier in 1912 in Shropshire. They had three children as follows: Mary born 1913 in Shropshire, Eileen born 1914 in Melbourne, Australia and Joan Margherita V born 1917 in London. Frederick had been born in 1890 at Newstead in Nottinghamshire. He had joined the Army in March 1910, possibly in the King’s Own Shropshire Light Infantry as a 2nd Lieutenant. By January 1916 he was attached to the Sherwood Foresters (Notts. & Derbys. Regt.) 15th Bn. He was sent with the Expeditionary Force to France on 28 January 1916, returning on 31 May 1916. He was promoted to Lieutenant on 18 June 1916 and returned to France on 20 January 1917. Sadly, he was killed in action on 23 April 1917 in France and is commemorated on the Arras Memorial. At the time of his death Ethel was living in Much Wenlock in Shropshire.
By 1921 it seems that Ethel had moved to London. Young Arthur Redford was shown as her adopted son, born in May 1916 in Aldershot, though both of his parents were still alive. With her also were her own three daughters. It seems that Arthur’s father was a visitor to the household at the time. He was shown as married. He was a Journalist (Editorial) for Iliffe & Son, Inolor Street, London E C4. His place of work was given as Hertford Street, Coventry. It isn’t known why Arthur had been adopted.
It would seem that his parents had separated and divorced as his mother had married Fred Burrage in 1920 in Hastings. However, her name was not given as Rhoda Redford or even Rhoda Mason at the marriage, but Rhoda Reeve. Fred Burrage served as a Lieutenant in the Royal West Surrey Regiment in WW1. Rhoda and Fred Burrage were living at No1, Park Mansions, Chapel Park Road, Hastings, Sussex in June 1921. It was stated that Rhoda was born in 1892 in Edinburgh. Fred was born in 1892 in Hastings. He was a retired army officer. Present too was a visitor, Ellen Mary Shaw, born in 1871 in Essex. Fred and Rhoda had a child, Pamela F M Burrage, on 8 July 1922 in Hastings.
Rhoda and Fred Burrage seemed to move frequently. In Spring 1923 they were living on the 1st Floor, 26 Stockleigh Road, St Leonards, Hastings. By Autumn that year they were living on the 2nd Floor 7 Carlisle Villas, Hastings. On both occasions, Ellen Mary Shaw was present and on the second Agnes Bertha Woods was also living with them. From 1927 to 1929 Fred and Rhoda were living at Leeford Farm, Whatlington, Sussex. It is known that Arthur attended the Collegiate College in St Leonard’s, Sussex from 1927 to 1931 and was in the Officer’s Training Corps there. It may be that he was back in touch with his mother, and possibly living with her again. By 1931 Rhoda and Fred had moved to Castle Combe in Devon, living at Woodlands, Castle Martin. Pamela Burrage is mentioned in newspaper articles in connection with children performing in the Combe Martin Missionary Entertainment in 1931 and 1932.
However, it seems that sometime between 1931 and 1937 Fred and Rhoda had separated. In 1937, Electoral Rolls show that Rhoda was living on the ground and 1st floor of Edward Road, Hastings with Rose Edith Fletcher. The following year, they were living at No 4 Edward Road. It isn’t known if Pamela or Arthur were with them as they were too young to be on the Electoral Roll. Rose Fletcher had been born on 5 December 1873 and was the daughter of George and Emily Fletcher who, from at least 1891 to 1921, were living at 34 Cambridge Road Hastings. Rose was an Elementary School Teacher. However, by 1921, her father had died. In 1923 her mother was living on the 1st Floor of 7 Carlisle View, below the flat of Fred and Rhoda Burrage, which may be when Rhoda and Rose met.
In 1938 an Electoral Register shows Arthur had left home and was living at 43 High Street, Chertsey, Surrey with several other men: Charles William Bird, Edward Albert George Collier, George Dudley Dyke, John Wilfred Saunders and Clifford Curtiss. Elizabeth Edwards was also present.
He married Helen Norah Rabin on 1 September 1939 at Woking Registry Office in Surrey. Helen was known as Peggy. She was born on 19 May 1910 in Banbury, Oxfordshire and baptised at Avon Dassett in Warwickshire on 24 July 1910. Her parents were William Henry Rabin (born on 1 December 1880 in Clevendon, Warks.) and Annie Lucy Cox (born on 1 July 1886 in Southampton). They had married in 1907 in Farnham, Surrey. Her father was working as a Chauffeur at the time of her baptism. By 1911 they were living at Providence Cottages, Crawley Ridge Road, Camberley. William was still working as a Chauffeur. They were living with Annie’s widowed mother Kate Cox, born 1856, Southampton. Present too were two of Annie’s brothers, both born in Southampton: Harry Cox 1891 and Sydney Cox 1894. Harry was a Domestic Chauffeur and Sydney was a Footman.
In September 1939 Arthur and Helen Redford were living at 29 Portesbury Road, Camberley Surrey. Arthur was working as a Salesman – Grocery & Provisions. They were living with Helen’s parents, William H and Annie L Rabin. William was now a Garage Proprietor.
By September 1939 his mother Rhoda, Rose E FLetcher and Pamela F M Burrage were living at 7 Edith Road, Baron’s Court, Hammersmith. Rhoda was working as a “Demonstrator W S G Operating (Relief)”. Pamela was training at a Cottage Hospital. Rose was a retired school teacher. Three other people aged 24 to 34 were living in the household, though possibly in separate apartments. Rhoda was shown as divorced, but her birth date is given as 8 September 1886 – six years older than claimed in 1921. That may not be the only incorrect statement made at that time. No Rhoda Reeve could be found born in Edinburgh at any time between 1885 and 1895. In fact, it has proved difficult to find the birth of Annie Cora Rhoda Mason or Reeve or any combination of those with any certainty – meaning she remains something of a mystery.
At this time, Fred Burrage was living at 139 Clarence Road, Bristol. He was shown as retired but also as a Lieutenant/Acting Captain of the Queen’s Regiment Officers’ Emergency Reserve. He was shown as married and in the same household was Sybil V L Burrage, born 1908, who was also shown as married. An unnamed child was also present. No marriage of Fred Burrage to Sybil could be found. A child named Diana R Burrage was born in Sodbury, Gloucestershire in 1937, though the mother’s maiden name was given as Burrage.
At that time, too, Ethel E Collier was living at Birchdene Fitzroy Road, Fleet, Hampshire. She was in the household of Frederick G Spring – a Retired Army Officer – and his wife Violet M Spring. There too was Ethel’s daughter, Joan M V Collier and another Widow, Edith L S Pogson.
Military career
Arthur Clare-Reeve Redford enlisted in the Corps of Military Police at Aldershot on 14 February 1940 (Service No. 7686605) having initially been put on a waiting list. He stated that he was born on 6 May 1916 in Aldershot. He gave his address as 29 Portesbury Road, Camberley in Surrey. He named his wife, Helen Nora Redford, of the same address as his next of kin. Arthur was described as 5 ft 8 ¾ in tall and weighed 212 lbs. He had a fresh complexion, grey eyes and brown hair. He gave his religion as Church of England. He was declared medically fit. He had previously served from 1927 to 1931 in the Officers’ Training Corps at Collegiate College, St Leonard’s on Sea, Sussex which would be when he was at school. He gave his trade as a Policeman (War Reserve). However, another document from 5 March 1941 indicated that he had previously worked at a Grocery and Provisions Salesman for J Sainsbury of Stamford House, Stamford Street, Blackfriars who were Grocery and Provisions Merchants. He was initially posted as a Private to Mychett, Ash Vale which is between Aldershot and Camberley.
He embarked for France on 15 May 1940 and was posted to the British Expeditionary Force. He was awarded the Military Medal. This was reported in the London Gazette on 27 September 1940. Issue 34955, Page 5764. (though his surname was wrongly given as Radford and Service No: 7687705):
“France & Flanders Arthur Clare Reeve Radford was on duty during the retreat from Dunkirk. The bridge he was guarding had been rigged with explosives ready to be destroyed, and the approaching road had been mined. Radford was told of a wounded soldier in the path of the advancing Germans. He rode his motorcycle across the bridge and down the road, returning with the wounded man draped across the bike, moments before the bridge was blown.”
His Service Record states that he returned to the UK on 26 June 1940. This suggests that he remained in France long after the evacuation from Dunkirk in early June, suggesting he might have been involved in activities further south.
On 4 July 1940 he was appointed as a Paid Lance Corporal and appointed to the 1st Armoured Division Provost Company on 8 July 1940. He was appointed as War Substantive Corporal on 2 April 1941.
He embarked for the Middle East on 24 September 1941 arriving on 5 December 1941. He was appointed as Paid Acting Sergeant on 2 April 1942 and posted to 201 Guards Brigade Provost Company – CMP that same day. This was part of 1st Armoured Division.
He was then reported as missing on 20 June 1942. Peggy was only informed of this on 15 August 1942. She then received an official letter dated 28 August 1942 about an allowance due to her which referred to the fact that Arthur had been reported missing.
Allied forces had taken Tobruk in Libya from the Italians in January 1941. Attempts were made to push further west, but the Allies had to pull back to Tobruk in April that year to avoid encirclement. Prolonged fighting against German and Italian forces followed. Although the siege was lifted in November 1941, a renewed offensive by Axis forces under Erwin Rommel the following year resulted in the fall of Tobruk on 20 June 1942. The 1st Battalion of the Sherwood Foresters and the 2nd Battalion Scots Guards were captured as were many men from the Royal Artillery, Royal Armoured Corps, and also some from the Corps of Military Police and other Corps.
By 31 August 1942 there were unconfirmed reports that Arthur was one of those taken as a Prisoner of War and Peggy was informed of this a few days later. By 18 October 1942 it was known that he was a Prisoner of War in Italian hands. On 31 October 1942 his capture as a Prisoner of War was reported in the Surrey Advertiser as follows:
“Reported missing in the Middle East four months ago, Sergeant Arthur Clare-Reeve Redford of the Corps of Military Police, whose home is at 29 Portesbury Road, Camberley, is now reported to be a prisoner of war in Italian hands. Sergeant Redford went to France on the outbreak of war and was decorated with the Military Medal for gallantry in June 1940. He married three years ago a daughter of Mr WH Rabin, a Camberley garage owner.”
Peggy received a letter from him in early December 1942 showing that he was in Campo PG 158. It is not yet known where this was. She subsequently received another letter indicating that he was in Campo PG 70 which was the Monturano POW Camp. She kept photographs of Arthur until her death, including some showing him at Monturano POW Camp.
On 5 October 1943 he was transferred from Italy to Stalag IV in Germany. His prisoner of war number was 228732. It took until 22 February 1944 for Peggy to receive another official letter telling her that Arthur had been transferred to this camp. This was Stalag IV-F in Hartmannsdorf, near to Chemnitz, Saxony, Germany. Stalag IV-F was a large camp capable of holding about 6,000 prisoners of different nationalities. The P.O.W.s were assigned to various Arbeitskommando “Work detachments” locally. Stalag IV-F was liberated by American troops on 21 April 1945.
It took nearly 9 months, until 15 January 1946, for his wife to fully discover what had then happened to Arthur. A unit of the United States Army had freed the camp where he had been held which was north of the town of Zwickau. Zwickau lies west of Chemnitz. They then had orders to seize the bridge in Zwickau. Following the liberation of the camp, Arthur could simply have been repatriated back to the UK but instead chose to help the Americans. He, together with a Corporal of the Marines, offered to guide the Unit behind the defences into the town. This was carried out successfully, avoiding many casualties, but on proceeding to capture the second bridge Arthur was wounded in the legs and groin. Another source states that whilst travelling on one of the lead American tanks he was shot by a sniper. He received first aid and was removed soon afterwards to a US Military Hospital by the Medical Corps of the United States Army. However, it seems that he died from his wounds on or sometime after 22 April 1945. He was initially buried in a cemetery at Eisenach which lies well to the west of Zwickau. He was then reinterred on 29th June, 1945 in the United States Military Cemetery No. 1 at Margraten in the Netherlands. He was finally laid to rest on 1 May 1947 in Overloon.
Aftermath
It seems that, at least by 9th August 1945, Peggy had been informed that he was wounded and taken to hospital but had then heard little else. She even received a letter dated 14 August 1945 asking her if she would inform the CMP Records Office if she heard anything from her husband as no report had been received by them of his liberation or repatriation. She replied that the last time she had heard from her husband was on 2 January that year.
On 31 August the Record Office wrote to the War Office as they had received a parcel of effects belonging to Arthur which was labelled “Deceased Man’s Kit” but had not received any report of his death. They replied on 22 September asking for a copy of the documents that had accompanied the effects as they had no trace of any effects forwarded by them. These were duly sent on 26 September. They recorded the following personal effects: 3 Wallets, 8 pictures framed, 5200 “Marks” (souvenir), 1 Souvenir Handkerchief, 1 coin purse, 2 souvenir coins, 7 x 3d stamps, Photographs, 1 souvenir card and 1 medal ribbon.
On 2 October his wife received a letter from the War Office explaining that no definite evidence had been received regarding her husband, but telling her about the receipt of the parcel of his effects labelled “deceased man’s kit” and that therefore they regretfully concluded that he had succumbed to his wound. They were still making enquiries in the area where he had been taken to hospital. On 19 October his wife wrote to the Record Office referring to this letter, the parcel of effects and the fact that they had then assumed that her husband was dead. She asked if they had any more information. She said “I am very dissatisfied about the whole affair, as W. Cummins from Belfast the only witness to my husband’s accident whilst he was with the American Army after liberation from IMF [should be IVF] tells me that my husband’s leg wound was so slight it could not possibly have proved fatal”. She was asking for proof that he had died from his wounds rather than just assuming he had died. Her feeling was that he was left in an American Hospital and when they left was taken over by the Russians, as they arrived a very short time after the accident. The Record Office forwarded it on to the War Office on 24 October who responded on 2 November saying no more information had been received.
It was only when she received the letter from the War Office dated 15 January 1946 that she finally found out what had happened.
It seems that even after the mystery of his death was resolved, there was still a degree of uncertainty during late March and April 1946 regarding the date of his death. It seems it should have been recorded as on or shortly after 22 April 1945 but had initially been stated to be on or about 22 April 1945. It isn’t certain if this change was ever relayed to Peggy.
Arthur had served for a total of 5 years and 68 days, of which 42 days were in France, 270 days were in the Middle East, 1 year and 107 days were as an Italian Prisoner of war and 1 year and 199 days were as a German prisoner of war. As well as his Military Medal, he was awarded the 1939-45 Star, the Africa Star and the War Medal 1939-45.
Peggy was awarded a pension of £1/3/4 payable from 4 March 1946.
The inscription on Arthur’s grave mentions “Peggy, Mother, Pamela.” Peggy is now known to be his wife, Helen. His Mother was Rhoda Burrage and Pamela was his half sister, Pamela Burrage.
It isn’t known when Arthur’s father died.
Electoral rolls show Rhoda Burrage living at Magravine Gardens, Hammersmith, London in 1946 and 1947. Rose E Fletcher was present. Between 5 and 7 other people were at the same address – but possibly in separate apartments. This address was recorded on a document found in the Netherlands indicating that she had perhaps been in touch with Mr H Craus of Brunssum who had adopted Arthur’s grave. Rhoda and Rose seemed to be living again at 7 Edith Road in 1948 and 1949. However, Rose Fletcher died in 1949. From 1951 to at least 1965 Rhoda was living at 55 Brook Green. Once again, around six others were at the same address and it is not clear who, if any, Rhoda was living with.
It seems that Pamela Burrage was not living with Rhoda during this time but now lived with her father, Fred Burrage, and step mother, Sybil V L Burrage, at 1 Hollyleigh Avenue, Filton, Bristol from at least 1946 to 1959.
Ethel E Collier died in 1969 in Thurrock, Essex and Frederick Burrage in the same year in Bristol. Sybil Violet Louise Burrage was at the same Filton address when she died in 1979. An announcement in the Bristol Evening Post of 14 February 1979 referred to her as the “loving mother of Diana and Pamela and grandmother of Hugh and Sonya.” She clearly looked on Pamela as her daughter.
Rhoda Burrage died on 22 February 1983 in Hammersmith in what appears to be a care home run the Convent of the Sisters of Nazareth at Nazareth House, Hammersmith Road. Her birth date was again given as 8 September 1886.
Peggy (Helen Nora Redford) died in 2005 in West Surrey. Her birth date was given as 17 May 1910. She had never remarried.
