Bertram Shephard
- Family History
- Military History
- Extra Information
- Photographs
Bertram was the eldest son of William and Martha Shephard (née Farmer). His father William was born in Sheffield, Yorkshire, in 1860 and his mother Martha in Leicester in April 1857. According to information provided on the 1911 Census they had been married for 19 years ie. about 1892, but no record of a UK marriage has yet been traced. William and Martha had three children, the two eldest of whom were born in America, Marion b. abt 1895 and Bertram b. abt. 1896, and Harold b. Sheffield 1899. Martha and her two children, Marion (3) and Bertram (2), sailed from New York to Liverpool onboard SS Lucania in 1898, arriving Liverpool on 18 February. William Shephard appears to have returned separately to the UK, but by 1901 the family was living on Stothard Road, Sheffield; the youngest child, Harold, had been born in the city two years earlier in June 1899. However, by 1911 William, who was still working as a tin plate worker, his wife and their three children, Marion a warehouse girl (wholesale druggists), Bertram, a tin plate worker and Harold, were living at 8 Milton Street, Mansfield. They later moved to 4 Milton Street. Marion married Edward Bell in 1916 and they had three children, Marion Doreen b. 1917, Bertram Edward b. 1918 and Gwendoline Rita b. 1920. Marion, died aged 33 in October 1927; her husband remarried in 1931 (Nellie Allen). William died in November 1926 aged 66. In 1939 when the England & Wales Register was compiled his widow Martha and their son Harold, a civil servant, were still living at 4 Milton Street. Martha died in 1942.
1st Bn Lincolnshire Regiment Bertram served in France from 17 February 1915 and was killed by shell fire on 2 June 1915 while in the trenches. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Belgium (Panel 21). He qualified for the 1915 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.
Mansfield Reporter, 11 June 1915: ‘Killed in the Trenches. Mansfield Youth Struck By Shell. Pte. Bert Shephard, son of Mr Shephard, of Milton-street, Mansfield, was killed last week in the trenches by being struck by a shell. He was only 19 years of age, and was prior to going away an active member of the Boy Scout movement. His father, and he, too, worked for Mr H Chatterton, tin smith, etc., Stockwell-gate. He first joined Kitchener’s Army and was then transferred to the Lincolns. A friend of the deceased soldier has written home as follows, to Mr Shephard. ‘As you will perhaps know, I have been away from the battalion for a while, and I only arrived back last night. I have a very painful duty to perform, and that is to tell you that Bert met with his death last Wednesday (June 2nd). He was killed by a shell whilst facing the enemy in the trenches. This wounded him, but almost immediately afterwards another shell came over and killed him. Try and remember that he died nobly, doing his duty for his country. I don’t know how I shall get on without him, for no one will miss him more than me. I only regret I was not with him during his last hours. I hope you will try and bear it bravely, I know it is hard.’ (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) Mansfield Chronicle Advertiser, 17 June 1915, with photograph. His sister, Marion, had sent him part of her 21st birthday cake, but he had died 3 days before. Mansfield Reporter, 18 June 1915: ‘Memorial Service to the Fallen. St John’s Mansfield. On Sunday afternoon a memorial service was held in St John’s Church to honour several parishioners who have fallen at the front. The service was attended by members of the Adult School, St John’s CEMS, St John’s and St Andrew’s BP Scouts, and many friends. Suitable hymns were sung, and the service, which consisted of the greater part of the burial service, was read by the Rev. W Bunting, the lesson being read by the Rev. J Ridgeway. The Vicar (Rev.W Lilley) gave a short address … He dealt particularly with Neville B Bradford, of the Northumberland Fusiliers, who was a regular worshipper at St John’s ... The vicar also mentioned two other parishioners (Butler and Bert Shepherd), who had recently been killed at the front. The former was connected with St Andrew’s, and the latter had while at home devoted much time and thought and patience to the boys of Mansfield, being a conscientious and hard worker in connection with the local Scouts. At the close of the service the Dead March was played by Mr TW Renshaw.’; (www.britishnewspaprarchive.co.uk) Registers of Soldiers' Effects: his mother Martha Shephard was his sole legatee. Mansfield Reporter, ‘Deaths’, 21 October 1927: ‘On the 13th inst., Marion Bell, Milton Street, Mansfield, aged 33.’ (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) Mansfield Reporter, ‘Deaths’, 19 November 1926: On the 12th inst., William Shephard, Milton Street, Mansfield, aged 66.’ (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)
