Alfred HODGE was born c1878 Hoxton, London and when entering military service on 3 Mar 1899 he said his occupation was Groom. His referee on entering the military was Arthur F. VENN who was a Carman and had known Alfred for 5 years. Alfred was in the Army Service Corps. 3rd Divisional Train Regimental No. T/14411 and he was a Driver. His Army record is available in the National Archives. It appears that he was on the reserve list for some time although from his record we can see that he joined at Aldershot and was in South Africa from 22 Dec 1903-30 Mar 1908, then at home possibly as a reserve; then he went to France with the Expeditionary Force on 17 Aug 1914. Unluckily for Alfred he was accidently shot by a comrade on 10 Sep 1914. He was awarded the 1914 Star; British War Medal; Victory Medal. He left a widow Elizabeth HODGE [nee PEARCE] who he had married on 15 May 1910 at St. Johns, Paddington, London and his young son, Sidney Alfred HODGE who was born 20 Oct 1910 in Hendon, London, also his mother Emily HODGE was still living. Alfred was a very distant relative of mine and I found him when researching my family history. I hope that there are others that knew him better than I did. From his Army record he served his country for 15 years before his death and deserves to be remembered.

Barbara Watts