Mitchell, Bert Victor

Poppy on a wooden cross

Age: 28
Date of birth: 1887

Parents: Thomas and Henrietta Mitchell
Wife: Catherine Emma Mitchell
Address: 14 Factory Yard

Occupation:

Bert was born in Warwick in 1887. He was the second son of nine children, seven boys and two girls.  His siblings were Thomas (b. 1886), Evelyn (b.1889), Mary Jane (b.1892), John (b. 1894), Walter (b. 1897), Arthur (b. 1899), Henry (b. 1901 and Albert (b. 1906).

In 1901 the family were living at 12 Factory Yard and his father Thomas was a general labourer. Bert, aged 14, and his older brother Thomas, aged 15, were both working at the Nelson Dale Gelatine Factory.

According to the 1911 census Bert’s parents and the five youngest siblings were still living at 12 Factory Yard.  Bert, still single, had been in the army for a while and was stationed in Ceylon and India. However, this newspaper item shows that at the time of his death he had married and had a baby.

Warwick Advertiser 15th May 1915

Bertie’s wife, Catherine Emma, died in Warwick in May 1954 and is buried in Warwick Cemetery.

Military Service

Rank & Number: Private, 378
Regiment/Service: 1st Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment
Brigade/Division: 10th Brigade, 4th Division
Date of death: Monday, April 26, 1915
Cause of death/Battle: Killed in Action - Battle of St Julien
Commemorated/Buried: Menin Gate
Awards: 1914 Star and Clasp, British War Medal, Victory Medal
Commemorated locally at: St Nicholas Church

Bert served on the North West Frontier of India in 1908. Bert’s older brother Thomas had also joined the army and in 1911 was a drummer.

Bert was one of four soldiers listed on the Warwick Memorial who died at the Battle of St Julien, which was the second phase of the 2nd Battle of Ypres and was the first occasion on which the Germans used chlorine gas against the Allies. The other three were Walter Newton, Frank Masters and Herbert Price.

Contributors

  • Unlocking Warwick Research Group
  • Warwick Advertiser excerpt courtesy of Warwickshire Country Record Office

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