Son of William King Shreeves and his wife Anne Maria, Cecil was born in Harrowden but moved to Goldington around the age of four or five. William was a gardener. The 1911 census shows the family living at 18 King Edward Road, Goldington with Cecil working as a milk boy.

At the outbreak of the war it would seem that Cecil was part of the territorial army as Private 3192 with the 5th battalion of the Bedfordshire Regiment. He would have spent the early part of the war assigned to home defence and undergoing training for overseas service.

On 26 July 1915 the battalion left for overseas and landed at Gallipoli on 10 August 1915. Attrition was high and by December 1915 very few men remained - it is therefore likely that Cecil was injured (or became ill, which was also highly common in that region) and removed from active service. If this was the case it may explain how Cecil came to be reallocated as Private 32164 of the 6th battalion upon his return to service.

Unusually, the records show him as being killed in action 9-12 April 1917. Cecil was 19 years old. These dates exactly match the time when his battalion was engaged in the First Battle of the Scarpe, part of the Battle of Arras. He was buried at the nearby Feuchy Chapel British Cemetery.

Cecil is also recorded on the war memorial at the Bunyan Meeting Church, Bedford, along with two of his cousins.

Andrew Dennison