Gentle, Albert Charles

the roll of Honour from the Ashwell Merchant Taylors School

Albert Charles was born in Stotfold, Bedfordshire on 18 June 1884, the second son of James and Emily (nee Hull) Gentle. He was a pupil at the Merchant Taylor School in Ashwell, Hertfordshire.

Albert Charles enlisted with the Hertfordshire Yeomanry, Regimental Number 3098, on 28 February 1916 and almost immediately was transferred to the Hertfordshire Regiment, a Private, Regimental Number 11199, and was later assigned a new number in the Hertfordshire Regiment, Regimental Number 270981. In December of 1916 he was transferred to the Royal Engineers, Regimental Number 525915, and was mobilised to France in December 1916. On 24 December 1917 he was appointed Lance Corporal, a skilled sapper sawyer, with the 365^th Forestry Company, Royal Engineers. Albert saw active service in the Western European Theatre of War, France and Flanders. He survived the War and was demobilised in February 1919.

He was awarded the British War Medal, the Victory Medal.

He is commemorated on the St Mary’s Church Ashwell Roll of Honour.

Before enlisting he was a farm labourer in Ashwell.

Albert married Florence May Abrams in Ashwell, Hertfordshire on 12 July 1919. It is not known if they had children.

The 1939 census shows them living in Ashwell, with Albert a bricklayer’s labourer.

It is not known when Albert died, but Florence’s probate notice of 1960 states she was a widow.