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.”
Military career
When the second world war broke out Arthur enlisted and joined the Corps of Military Police (Service No. 7686605). He was posted to the B.E.F. in France, 1940 and served with the 1st Armoured Division Provost Company. Arthur 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.”
Arthur was promoted through the ranks to Sergeant. He was posted to North Africa and served with the 7th Armoured Division Provost Company. He was captured as a German Prisoner of War (No: 228732), on 20 June 1942 in Tobruk in Libya.
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.
Arthur was initially reported to be in Italian hands, including spending some time at Monturano POW Camp. By February 1944 he was reported to be in Stalag IV-F (4F) 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 although Arthur had been moved to another camp by then.
Throughout Spring 1945 many Allied P.O.W.s were moved to different camps without the Red Cross being notified.
Arthur was finally liberated by American troops in the Netherlands. The Americans asked for volunteers to help clear a nearby village of Germans. Arthur could simply have been repatriated back to the UK but instead chose to help the Americans. Sadly, his luck ran out. Whilst travelling on one of the lead American tanks he was shot by a sniper on the outskirts of the village. On 22 of April, 1945 he died from the wounds he received. He was just 27 years old.
Family History
Arthur Clare Reeve Redford was the son of Arthur and Annie Cora Rhoda Redford.
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 15/1/1889 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.
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.
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 June 1921. The battalions in which he served were additional “war-formed” Battalions in addition to the existing regular and territorial battalions.
In June 1921 Arthur Redford (Snr)’s parents, Alfred and Clara Redford, were living at 25, St Alms Villas, St Pancras, London. Alfred was now a Commercial Representative. Both were still shown as born in Unsworth – Alfred in 1863 and Clara in 1867. There was a maid, Winifred Martin, living with them.
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.
Ethel Emma Butcher married Frederick Herbert Mark Collier in 1912 in the Ludlow district of Shropshire. They had three children as follows: Mary born on 15 July 1913 in Holdgate, Shropshire, Eileen born on 22 October 1914 in Hawthorn, Melbourne, Victoria Australia and Joan Margherita V born on 27 July 1917 in Marylebone, London.
Frederick HM Collier had been born on 12 March 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 and also in Holdgate, Shropshire. At the time of his death Ethel was living in Much Wenlock in Shropshire. Records show that payments were made in 1917 to support his three young children.
By 1921 it seems that Ethel had moved to London and had adopted young Arthur Redford. He was shown as her adopted son, born in May 1916 in Aldershot. With her also were her own three daughters. There too was Evelyn Minter, a Companion Help, born in 1898 in Walmer in Kent and single. Arthur Redford, born in 1889 in Bury, Lancs., 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. This appears to be young Arthur’s father. Indeed, on 9 July 1921 he applied for his medals to be sent to that address. Both of young Arthur’s parents were said to be alive at that time. It isn’t known what had happened to young Arthur’s biological mother, or why he had been adopted.
However, it may be that this arrangement did not last long as Arthur’s mother appears to have been back in his life by the time he died. A document found in the Netherlands indicates that his mother was Mrs Rhoda Burrage of 56 Margravine Gardens, Baron’s Court, London W6. It also showed that a Mr H Craus of Brunssum had adopted his grave. He may have been in touch with Rhoda after the war.
This would suggest that Arthur’s parents had either divorced or that his father had died and his mother had re-married.
A Rhoda Burrage was found living at No1, Park Mansions, Chapel Park Road, Hastings, Sussex in June 1921. It was claimed that she was born in 1892 in Edinburgh. Her husband was Fred Burrage, born 1892 in Hastings. He was a retired army officer. Present too was a visitor, Ellen Mary Shaw, born in 1871 in Essex.
It seems that Fred and Rhoda had married in 1920 in Hastings. However, her name was not given as Rhoda Redford or even Rhoda Mason at the marriage, but Rhoda Reeve. As it is thought that Arthur’s father was alive in June 1921, it must be assumed that he and Rhoda had separated. Fred and Rhoda had a child, Pamela F M Burrage, in 1922 in Hastings. The inscription on Arthur’s gravestone refers to his Mother and Pamela – so it seems as though Arthur had established contact with his mother and half sister at some point.
Fred Burrage served as a Lieutenant in the Royal West Surrey Regiment in WW1. Prior to his marriage, in 1919 he was living with his mother Sarah and brother Charles at 33 St George’s Road, Hastings.
Rhoda and Fred Burrage seemed to move frequently. In Spring 1923 Electoral Rolls show that they were living on the 1stFloor, 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. By 1931 they 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. On 6/12/1937 Fred Burrage made the newspapers when he climbed down a 200ft cliff to rescue a cat at Combe Martin. On 15/10/1938, it was reported that his mother, Mrs Sarah Burrage, had died at 33 St George’s Road, Hastings.
However, it seems that sometime between 1929 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 was with them as she was too young to be on the Electoral Roll. Edith Fletcher had been born on 5/12/1873 and was the daughter of George and Emily Fletcher. From at least 1891 to 1921, Rose and her family were living at 34 Cambridge Road Hastings. Rose was an Elementary School Teacher. However, by 1921, her mother was a widow. In 1923 Emily Fletcher 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.
By September 1939 Rhoda and Pamela F M Burrage were both living at 7 Edith Road, Baron’s Court, Hammersmith. This is very close to the Margravine Gardens address found later in the Dutch document. Rhoda was shown as divorced, but her birth date is given as 8/9/1886 – six years younger than claimed at her marriage. That may not be the only incorrect statement made at the time of her marriage. 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. Rhoda was working as a “Demonstrator W S G Operating (Relief)”. Pamela was shown as born on 8/7/1922 and was training at a Cottage Hospital. It was indicated that she later married someone called Lewis, then Morley. Rose E Fletcher was still with Rhoda. She was now 66 while Rhoda was 53. Rose was a retired school teacher. Three other people were living in the household, though possibly in separate apartments. These were: Ruth Jones, born 25/7/1912, a Baker’s shop Assistant; Mair G Morris, born 9/5/1915, a Restaurant Waitress and finally Walter Green, born 16/12/1905, a Teacher of Elocution and Dancing.
By September 1939 Fred Burrage, born 7/11/1892, 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 23/12/1908, 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.
It is not certain where Arthur Clare Reeve Redford had lived between June 1921 when he was with Ethel Collier and 1938, but in that year an Electoral Register shows him 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.
Arthur C R Redford married Helen Norah Rabin in summer 1939 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.
At that time, too, Ethel E Collier (born 27 March 1890) was living at Birchdene Fitzroy Road, Fleet, Hampshire. She was in the household of Frederick G Spring (born 25 July 1878) – a Retired Army Officer – and his wife Violet M Spring (born 16 November 1891). There too was Ethel’s daughter, Joan M V Collier (born 21 March 1917). Present too was another Widow, Edith L S Pogson (born 1 August 1850). Frederick Gordon Spring had been born in Bombay. He was a 2ndLieutenant in the Lincolnshire Regiment (10th Foot) from 7 May 1898. He served in South Africa from 18 April 1900. He was awarded WW1 Medals for service between 1914 and 1920 reaching the rank of Temporary Brigadier General.
As we have seen Arthur Clare Reeve Redford served in WW2 in the Corps of Military Police.
His wife, “Peggy” Redford, received an official letter dated 28/8/1942 about an allowance due to her which referred to the fact that Arthur had been reported missing, though it implies she had already been made aware of that. She received another letter dated 30/10/1942 indicting that it was now known that he was in enemy 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 had kept photographs of Arthur until her death, including some showing him at Monturano POW Camp in Italy. Although the dates on these were unclear and have been overwritten to 1/5/1945, it is more likely to have been 1/5/1943.
On 22/2/1944 Peggy received another official letter telling her that Arthur had been transferred from Italy to Stalag IV F in Germany.
Arthur’s probate record gave his address as 29 Portesbury Rd, Camberley, Surrey. It stated that he died on 22/4/1945 on War Service. His wife administered his estate.
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.
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. They 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 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. She married William Lewis in 1960 in Sodbury, Gloucestershire. No marriage to anyone named Morley or the death of Pamela could be found. It is not thought that she had any children.
It isn’t known when Arthur’s father died.
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 on 12/2/1979. An announcement in the Bristol Evening Post of 14/2/1978 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 22/2/1983 in Hammersmith in what appears to be a care home run in the Convent of the Sisters of Nazareth at Nazareth House, Hammersmith Road. Her birth date was again given as 8/9/1886.
Helen Nora Redford died in 2005 in West Surrey. Her birth date was given as 17 May 1910. She had never remarried.
