210448 Pte. William Reginald Easey Britsh Army 4th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment from:Gisleham, Suffolk William Easey was my great grandfather. He came from a very small village called Gisleham on the outskirts of Lowestoft in Suffolk. He signed up aged 28 and was attested on December 13th 1915. From his service records it looks as though after joining the army reserve on 14th December 1915 he was finally mobilised to his regiment in June of 1916 going overseas.
The service records I hold for his indicate that he was initially with the 3rd Battalion then transferred to the 4th Battalion in September 1916. The records then get confusing because twice it lists he was with the 1st Battalion in 1917. We know he was in hospital from January 23rd 1917 - 6th April 1917; however the record is not that clear what he was in hospital for. There was another entry stating that he was in hospital again later that year for Trench Fever.
My family still have a postcard he sent to my grandmother whilst he was overseas, she would have been 5 years old at the time. At some point after 1917 he must have been transferred back to the 3rd battalion because this is on his discharge records from February 1919, the dispersal unit was Thetford in Norfolk which is just up the road from where I live now.
I am incredibly proud of William even though he died long before I was born, he served his country and was one of the lucky ones who lived to see another day and see his wife and children again, so many didn't. My dad said that he would never talk about the war and hated anything German. The farm where he lived when he went to war and came back too is now lived in by friends of my parents and when they dredged their pond about five years ago they found a bayonet and gave it to my dad guessing it must have been thrown in there by William on his return.
I hope by sharing what little I know about my family will inspire other people to share their little pieces of what is such an important time in our history and one that should never ever be forgotten.
|