305892 Private Sheppard (Frederick)

Address: Longstreet, Enford.

Regiment: 10th (Service) Battalion the Royal Warwickshire Regiment (10 Warwicks).

Frederick Sheppard was born in 1883 at Enford, the son of James, an agricultural labourer, and Harriett. The family lived in Enford and Fred was one of nine children. The death of his father meant that his mother was forced to find work as a laundress. Fred worked as a carter and the family lived at No 45 Enford although he later moved to the Newbury area working as a woodsman.

Aged 31 when the war started, Fred enlisted immediately at Newbury and was sent to Warwick where he joined the newly formed 10th Battalion of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. Following training at Tidworth, Fred and the battalion landed in France on 17 July 1915. They took part in the Battle of the Somme in July and continued to be engaged in the campaign until it closed in November 1916.

Fred stayed with his battalion and in March 1918, the unit was in the line in the St Quentin sector when the huge German offensive of 1918 started. Many units were overwhelmed in this offensive and Fred was killed on 22 March, just one day into the German attack. He was buried at Bullecourt Cemetery but was later moved to the HAC Cemetery, Ecoust St Mein outside Bapaume.