Bertie Nason was born on the 4th March 1887 in Barcheston, the son of William and Emma Nason. At the time of Bertie’s birth William was working as a groom and gardener. Records of their children’s births show that in the 1880’s the Nason family moved house several times. Jesse, Bertie’s older brother, was born in Shipston and a second older brother, Francis, was born in Barcheston.  After a spell living in Willington around 1879 when his sister Emma was born, the family moved back into Shipston. As William’s employment varies between the 1891 and 1901 census it is possible that the moves could have been work related.

On the 21st April 1890 Bertie entered the Shipston-on-Stour Infants School at which time the family were living in West Street, Shipston.  In less than a year the family had moved house again and at the time of the 1891 census they are living in Church Street, Shipston.

On the 2nd July 1894 young Bertie moved up from Shipston Infants to Shipston Boys School, joining class 4. His year of leaving school is not noted in the school register. It was probably before 1901 as there is no sign of Bertie in the census taken in March 1901, when the family are living in a 4-roomed house in Court Row, Shipston-on-Stour, Worcestershire. Court Row is believed to have been somewhere between the junctions of New Street, West Street, Mill Street and Church Street, and it may well be that the family moved there as early as 1890.

In June 1908 Bertie joined the Army and served with the V Battery of the Royal Horse Artillery.  After two years service at home he was posted to India and had been in that country for five years at the outbreak of war in August 1914.  The war diary covering their return to Europe reports:

Nov 14th 1914 Left Meerut and entrained for Bombay

Nov 17th 1914 Embarked on SS Huntsman

Nov 19th 1914 Sailed from Bombay

Dec 2nd 1914 Arrived at Suez

Dec 7th 1914 Left Port Said

Dec 14th 1914 Arrived Marseilles, not allowed to disembark.

December 1914, and January and February 1915 were spent training in northern France and by the 1st March they were at Serny to the southwest of Aire-sur-la-Lys. The war diary for that and the following day reports:

1st March 1915 Drill order. Standing to, to move after dark. Order cancelled at 11pm.

2nd March 1915 2:30pm Accident with Trench Mortar whilst practising firing it.  Major M L Goldie MVO DSO, 2/Lieut E C Purchase and 2/Lieut P M Hosack wounded. 7 men killed and 30 wounded. Battery marched out of billets at 9pm.

Bertie Nason was one of the 7 soldiers killed outright.  A couple of days after the accident Major Goldie, 2/Lieut Purchase and two of the other men injured in the accident died of their wounds.

On the 20th March the Evesham Journal reported:

On Monday morning Mr and Mrs W Nason received the formal acknowledgement from the War Office with Lord Kitchener’s note of sympathy that their son, Herbert George Nason had been killed by the accidental explosion of a gun on March 2. Deceased was a shoeing smith with the Royal Horse Artillery, “V” Battery. He joined the Army on June 1, 1908. For the last five years has been stationed in India, and came with the Indian contingent at the outbreak of war. He would have been twenty-eight years of age on March 4, two days after his death. Much sympathy is felt for Mr and Mrs Nason and family in their bereavement.

An article in the Stratford Herald of the 26th March reported:

Herbert George Nason, son of Mr & Mrs W. Nason of Shipston died somewhere in France on 2nd March two days before his 28th birthday.  The deceased was a shoeing smith with the Royal Horse Artillery and was killed by the accidental explosion of a gun. He was unmarried and was very popular and highly respected. In the last letter that his parents received from him he told that he expected to obtain 5 days leave of absence and they need not be surprised to see him march in any day. The greatest sympathy is felt for his parents and the family in their sad loss.

Bertie Nason is remembered on both on the Town and the County School Memorials and is buried in Aire Communal Cemetery, Aire-sur-la-Lys, Pas de Calais, France, where he lies with the six other colleagues that died on the day of the accident.

Mike Wells