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Wilfred Harris GabbWilfred Harris Gabb, usually known as Bill, was born in Fretherne on 5 August 1897 to George William Gabb, a blacksmith, and Elizabeth Ann née Harris. In 1901 Bill and his parents were living in Saul Road, Fretherne and by 1911 he was a Post Office messenger and the family were at Lion House, Saul, which still has a lion statue over the door. Soon afterwards he became a trainee mechanic for Fielding & Platt Ltd., an engineering company in Gloucester. Bill enlisted with the Worcestershire Regiment on 4 September 1914 and he entered France on 19 July 1915. His daughter recalls that he spent time in the trenches before his mechanical skills were recognised. Private Gabb was transferred to the Army Service Corps on 29 October 1915 and he always considered that this move saved his life. As a mechanic he serviced the vehicles which went to the Front. Bill apparently served alongside Australian troops and won a cup running against them. He was transferred to the Army Reserve on 29 April 1919 and awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal. His war service is commemorated on the plaque in Frampton Village Hall. In October 1921 Bill married Emma Amelia (Millie) Attridge whose family lived at The Lake, Frampton. Bill and Millie set up home at The Walks, but they later moved to De Lacy Cottage, The Street. They had three children: Fred, Betty and Jean. Bill worked for the RAF No. 7 Maintenance Unit at Quedgeley delivering vehicles to local depots and Tilbury docks. Like many other First World War veterans, he was an ARP Warden during the Second World War. Wilfred Harris Gabb died at his home in Cam in 1983 and his ashes were interred in the churchyard of his parish church of St George. |