Description
British South Africa Company Medal, Rhodesia 1896, 4213 Private Frederick Gill, 2nd Battalion West Riding Regiment, later fought in WW1.
Officially engraved: “4213 Pte Frederick Gill. 2. W. Rid. Regt.”
Frederick Sydney Gill was born in St Andrews, Hull, Yorkshire during 1879. At the age of 18 having worked as a Porter, and been a member of the 4th East Surrey Regiment of Militia, he attested for full service in the West Riding Regiment in London on 17th July 1894.
He would see the following service:
Home, 17th July 1894 – 26th May 1895
South Africa, 27th May 1895 – 5th January 1898
East Indies, 6th January 1898 – 28th February 1902
South Africa, 1st March 1902 – 9th September 1902.
Army Reserve Class B, 27th September 1902 – 16th July 1906
Army Reserve Class D, 17th July 1906 – 16th July 1910.
Total service of 16 years.
Following his time in the Army, he had moved to Buckinghamshire, and the 1911 Census shows him as a “Coachman, Chauffeur, Domestic.” living in Beaconsfield with his wife Alice Gill.
Naturally when the First World War broke out, he swiftly arrived at Halifax, to rejoin his old regiment the West Riding Regiment on 7th September 1914 at the age of 39.
He was appointed as Paid Lance Corporal on 1st January 1915 with 3rd Battalion, then Acting Sergeant on 7th August 1915, followed by full Corporal on 9th February 1916.
During the war on 29th April 1916 he was transferred to the 2nd Garrison Battalion West York Regiment, then on 28th August 1916 joined the Army Service Corps Mechanical Transport at Grove Park as Acting Sergeant.
It appears he was putting his years as a Chauffeur and Coachman to good use for the war effort.
He served until the end of the war and was finally discharged on 4th July 1919.
It does not appear he earned any medals for his WW1 service as he was stationed in England, he arrived with the regiment late into the South African Boer War, and is entitled to the Queen’s South Africa, 2 bars, Transvaal and South Africa 1902.
