Frederick James Whittaker (all his early documents have two 't's')  was born in Haddenham, Cambridgehire, on the 4th October 1885, the son of Fred, a plumber, and his wife Mary Ann Granger, also born in Haddenham. He was baptised at Holy Trinity church in the village, but his parents had married in Lancashire, and by 1891 the family was living in Barrowford, Lancashire.

How did Fred’s parents meet? Plumbers, of course, can work anywhere and he might have come to work in Haddenham for a while, but the census records show that May Ann was already living in Lancashire with her married aunt in 1881 and working as a Cotton Winder. She had probably heard that there was comparatively well-paid work there and, like many young people from East Anglia, had accepted the challenge of moving away from home.

In 1901, aged 16, Fred junior was an agricultural horse carter, still living with his parents, but the 1911 census shows him with a wife and a 3-year-old son, Leslie and living in Clayton-le–Moors, Lancashire. His marriage to Bertha Hallworth, daughter of Robert Hallworth, a weaver, had taken place on 27 July 1907, also in Clayton-le Moors, where she was born. A second son, Norman, was born in 1912.

Lacking a Service Record, we do not know when Fred signed up, but by the 5th October 1914 he was in a theatre of war, as that is the qualifying date for the 1914 Star, suggesting that he was either a serving soldier or a reservist. He was initially with the 2nd Battalion which landed at Zeebrugge 6 October 1914, but was wounded in November, possibly towards the end of the First Battle of Ypres.

It may be that on his recovery he transferred to the 1st Battalion which was in England in early 1915 but sailed for Gallipoli on 17th March 1915, going via Egypt and Mudros and landing at Cape Helles 25th April 1915. At some point he was promoted to Lance Corporal.

He died of wounds on 1st July 1915 and was buried at East Mudros Military Cemetery, Lemnos, Greece. Because of its position the island of Lemnos played an important part in the Gallipoli campaigns and Mudros became a considerable Allied camp, with a number of hospitals and other medical units, one of which had probably treated Fred after he received his wounds.

Rosemary Gorman