WRIGHT Fred

Known information

Private Fred Wright, son of George William and Fanny Wright of Church Farm, Barrowden, was born in the village on 18 June 1891. He enlisted in Uppingham and joined the 1st Battalion Yorkshire Regiment on 17 January 1917. The battalion was then posted to India in March. He died at Peshawar (modern-day Pakistan) on 4 November 1918, from 'flu. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission no longer maintains graves in the city and soldiers originally buried there are now commemorated on memorials elsewhere. Dr Ali Jan, who has extensively researched British burials in the area, suggests Fred could lie in Peshawar (Tehkal) Cemetery where there are a number of burials of men who died in the great influenza epidemic which swept the world at that time. He also says there is a memorial brass plaque in Peshawar's St John's Church (the oldest cathedral in the cantonment, built in 1860) that mentions Fred. "In memory of the officers, NCOs and men of the 1st Bn the Greeen Howards (PAO Y R) who were killed in action in Afghanistan 1919 or died during the time the Bn was stationed in Peshawar Jan 1918-Jan 1920." There are 50 names and Private F Wright is at the bottom. He is also remembered on Face 1 of the huge Delhi Memorial (India Gate) and in Barrowden Church. 

The India Gate in Delhi is unlike many other war memorials in that you cannot walk right up to it and stand underneath. It is because the Gate also has the tomb of the unknown soldier and eternal flame which is guarded night and day. It is still possible to see Fred's name, but you will need a camera with a good zoom or binoculars. If you stand on the side where the flags are, and furthest away from the traffic, his name is on the left hand panel. The Yorkshire Regiment names are in the far top right corner of the panel and Fred's is the bottom name in the Privates list.

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  • Fred WRIGHT
  • Barrowden Church
  • Barrowden Memorial
  • Delhi Memorial (India Gate) 2
  • Delhi Memorial (India Gate) 5
  • F Wright 2
  • F Wright 3

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Rutland and The Battle of the Somme

More than 90 Rutland soldiers died in the Battle of the Somme which lasted from 1 July 1916 until the middle of November. Today they lie in cemeteries across the old battlefield in northern France or are remembered among the 72,000 names on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme. By using our interactive map, you can find out what happened to them.

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