BQMS, Frederick Horrex,
  4th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery,
British Army
Service No. 26375

Fred was the son of Harry and Alice Horrex of Felsham in Suffolk, England. His father was an agricultural labourer.
On 2 January, 1916 Fred and Beatrice May Ettie married in Alverstoke, Hampshire, England. Fred and May lived
with her mother for all of their married life. One address given was 173 Forton Road, Gosport but over the years the
family lived at several different nearby addresses on Forton Road. May always dressed in black, like Queen Victoria.
(source - William Bashford Ettie)

The 1911 Census shows Fred as a Gunner with the 23rd Siege Battery at Grange Fort in Wickham,
near Gosport, Hampshire. When WWl started, Fred is seen in France on 17 September, 1914 with
No. 4 Siege Battery of the Royal Garrison Artillery and listed as a Bombardier. The Battery
operated the horse drawn, 6 inch, 30 cwt., Howitzer as seen above. In the field the Batteries were
often deployed with different groups and moved around as is seen in the following war diary.




The Siege Batteries were deployed behind the front line, tasked with destroying enemy artillery,
supply routes, railways and stores. The batteries were equipped with heavy Howitzer guns
firing 6 inch shells in a high trajectory.

At some point in the war Fred was gassed (source - William Bashford Ettie) and we see that
by wars end that he held the rank of BQMS (Battery Quarter Master Serjeant). This was not
in the direct operation of the Howitzer but in supplying the unit with everything that it needed.
This was often done when a man was no longer fit to perform his duties but had valuable
experience that could be used elsewhere within the unit. In this instance it might well have been
as a result of being gassed.

For his services Fred received a number of war medals including the Victory Medal, the
British War Medal and the 1914 Star.