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Frederick Jefferson
British Army Royal Army Medical Corps
from:Gateshead
Frederick Jefferson was my grandfather. He was born in impoverished circumstances and worked as a coal miner in Marley Hill and Sunniside pits. He was a conscientious objector and was ultimately given the choice of jail or serving as a non-combatant on the Western Front in the Royal Army Medical Corps. He was wounded twice in action and has a good conduct stripe. Family legend has he was gassed during the final years of the war. I have a card dated Christmas 1918/19 from the Commandant and Staff of Kempston House Hospital, Eastbourne addressed to Frederick so presumably he was receiving attention to his wounds at that stage.
After the war he had a variety of manual jobs and a growing passion for trade unionism. In 1939 he was part of Whickham ARP Decontamination Unit, presumably putting his first hand experience of poison gas to good use. After WW2 he was deeply involved in trade unionism and the Labour Party. He died in 1967, having rarely or never mentioned his experiences in WW1.
