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Cyril Vick
Cyril Vick was born on 24 August 1890 at Kidnam's farm, Hyde Lane, Whitminster, and baptised in the parish church of St Andrew on 23 November the same year. He was the only son of John Richard and Stella née Vick (both of the same surname) and was brought up on the farm with his four sisters. Despite helping alongside his father during his early years, Cyril decided not to follow the family tradition of farming and in 1911 was living in Gloucester and working as a butcher; his sisters, Ruby and Effie, and a cousin, Reginald, were also in his household and seemingly employed in the city. Family recall that Cyril enlisted into the Royal Field Artillery as a gunner, serving on the Western Front. Artillery, such as heavy guns and howitzers, played a huge role in the First World War. Although they were perhaps too often used as a blunt weapon and were then not very effective, until the introduction of tanks the artillery was the only means of cutting gaps in enemy defences, especially the barbed wire and machine gun posts, ready for an infantry attack. They would also drive enemy troops into their deepest shelters, but the soldiers could then emerge quickly as soon as the barrage stopped. A gunner's life must have consisted of much hard work in loading and firing huge shells continuously for days, and of course they (and the railways which carried the shells to the Front) were also a prime target for enemy artillery. For his service Cyril was awarded the British War Medal and Victory Medal, and is commemorated on the plaque in Frampton Village Hall. After the war Cyril lived at Advowsons farm (also known as The Gables) in Frampton, and married Frances Ann Nash at St Mary's on 21 April 1920. He set up in business as a butcher in The Street, firstly in Ye Olde Cruck House where the pork butcher's shop had been in previous times, and then on the corner of Ward's Court. They had one daughter, Mary. Cyril Vick died at The Gables on 21 April 1960 and was buried at St Peter's, Bentham, where he was joined by his widow, Frances, in 1976. |