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Pte. Frederick Short
British Army 1st/4th Battalion Royal Berkshire Regiment
from:Reading
My grandfather Fred always referred to himself as "Short by name, short by nature" - he was you will deduce not tall! I recall as a child asking my mother why my grandfather always cried on remembrance day. She said it was because he was remembering all his friends he had lost. Particularly so on one day when his squad was assembled at the top of the trench ready to launch an attack when a shell exploded right on the edge of the trench. All his mates were killed and he was the only one to survive, although injured (he had a dent in his cheek which I understood was from the shrapnel), he was thankful for his small stature from that day on. Pre war he worked in Huntley & Palmers biscuit factory in Reading and he returned there after the war, working there until he retired.
