Soldier Record
Bertram Wakeford
Contributed by: Richard Wakeford, on 2008-11-04
| Rank | |
|---|---|
| First Name | Bertram |
| Surname | Wakeford |
| Year of Birth | 1898 |
| Year of Death | 1952 |
| Regiment | Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment |
| Place of Wartime Residence | Maidstone, Kent |
Bertram's Story
My father was probably 16 or 17 years old when he joined the Army in 1914. He spoke very little about his experiences in the war, except his time spent in Eygpt and Palestine. He sometimes made references to Jerusalem, the desert and extreme thirst, arabs, swapping his motorbike for a camel as transport, and the use of Heliographs for sending and receiving messages, presumably in Morse Code.
I still have a Bible of his from Jerusalem, cover in Olive wood. And as a child, I remember an Arab headress with which we used to play. I can only recall vague references to Gallipoli and trench warfare in France from my father. Probably they were too horrific for him to recall. In the family, we still have Dad's three medals, Pip,Squeak & Wilfred, The British War Medal, The 1914-15 Star, and The Victory Medal.
No additional memories have been submitted