170575 Driver
P.G.F. SARSBY
Royal Field Artillery
5th October 1918 Age 27
Until the Day Break
Driver Philip George Frederick Sarsby
Service Number:………….. 170575
Regiment & Unit:………….Royal Field Artillery
……………………………..18th Bty. 3rd Bde.
Date of Death:……………...05 October 1918
Age:……………………….. 27 years old
Buried or commemorated at
NORWICH CEMETERY, NORFOLK
Grave:………………………54.199
Additional Info Son of Henry Sarsby, of 4, Bull Close, Norwich. Served at Salonika.
Source: www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/...
Soldiers Died in the Great War, an HMSO publication from the 1920’s, records that Driver 170575 “George Frederick” Sarsby Died on the 5th October 1918 while serving on the Home Front with the Royal Horse and Royal Field Artillery.
He was born Aylsham, Norfolk and enlisted Norwich. No place of residence is shown
In SDGW terms “Died” means anything other than Killed in Action or Died of Wounds, (received in action).
The Medal Index Card for Driver 170575 “George F.” Sarsby, Royal Field Artillery
is held at the National Archive under reference WO 372/17/168755
Source: discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D5027867
He qualified for the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. This combination of medals would indicate he did not serve in a Theatre of War until on or after the 1st January 1916.
Other than administrative references there is no additional information on the card.
The associated Service Medal Roll shows nothing additional beyong that he died on the 5th October 1918.
His Service Records do not appear to have survived the incendiary attack during the Blitz on the Warehouse where all the Other Ranks Army Service Records were stored.
No match on Picture Norfolk, the County Image Archive.
The Government Probate Service holds a Soldiers Will for 170575 George Sarsby who died on the 5th October 1918. probatesearch.service.gov.uk/Wills?Surname=Sarsby&Sur...
The Army Register of Soldiers Effects, a financial ledger rather than an inventory of belongings, shows that Driver 170575 “George Frosdick” Sarsby, 5a Reserve Battery, Royal Field Artillery, died at Norwich on the 5th October 1918. The entry is unclear and could read “Mil. SP” but I suspect it is probably a reference to Military Hospital.
The balance of his pay was sent to the Guardian of his legatee, Henry in September 1919.
The same guardian would also receive Georges’ War Gratuity when this was paid out in December 1919.
The death of a 27 year old Philip G.F. Sarsby was recorded in the Norwich District in the October to December quarter, (Q4), of 1918.
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The civil records are a bit complicated but stay with it and all will become clear.
The birth of a Philip George Frostick was registered with the Civil Authorities in the Aylsham District of Norfolk in the October to December quarter, (Q4), of 1891.
No mothers’ maiden name is shown in the GRO records, so there is a very strong likelihood it was also Frostick.
The baptism of a Philip George Frostick, born 16th September 1891, took place at St Michael, Aylsham, on the 5th October 1891. His mothers name was Mary Frostick. Both lived at Aylsham.
www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/6000a00ff493fd4403adde8...
www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VNJM-L4V
Then, as now, you had 42 days after the event to register the birth without facing prosecution and a fine. Thus the date of birth in the baptismal records and the period of registration in the civil record are not incompatible.
The marriage of a Mary Ann Frostick to a Henry Sarsby was recorded in the Aylsham District in the October to December quarter, (Q4), of 1895.
1901 Census of England and Wales
The 9 year old George Frostick, born Aylsham, Norfolk, was recorded living at 4 Bull Close, Norwich. This was the household of his stepfather, Henry Sarsby, (aged 39, a Shoemaker working from home, place of birth not known) and his mother, Mary A. Sarsby, (aged 29, born Wooddalling, Norfolk). The couple have two children of their own, Gladys H., (3) and Alice M, (10 months), both born Norwich.
1911 Census of England and Wales
The Sarsby family were still recorded living at 4 Bulls Close, Norwich. Parents Henry, (49, Boot Maker, born Norwich), and Mary, (38), state they have been married 16 years and have had 5 children, of which 4 were then still alive. Still single and living with them are George Frostick, (18, Pressman, Boot Trade), and Gladys Sarsby, (13), Alice Maud Sarsby, (10) and Harry Sarsby, (5, born Norwich).
Until September 1911 the quarterly index published by the General Registrars Office did not show information about the mothers’ maiden name. A check of the General Registrars Office Index of Birth for England and Wales 1911 – 1983 shows no likely additional children of Henry and Mary.
Army Career………………………………
The entry for George on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website shows him as 18th Battery, 3rd Brigade, Royal Field Artillery.
The 3rd Brigade was originally formed in August 1914, just after the outbreak of World War I. It was created in Jullundur, India from the merger of 18 Battery, 62 Battery, and 75 Battery. The individual batteries were, before the war, a part of the 3rd (Lahore) Division. Shortly after its formation, the regiment moved to Peshawar, from where it was ordered to England. Upon arrival in England in November 1914. The brigade was restructured at Winchester, where for a short time it was called CXLVI Brigade. By the end of the restructuring, 75 Battery had left the brigade and 365 Battery had taken its place.
The regiment then joined the 28th Infantry Division and was first deployed to France for the remainder of the year, before being moved to Thessaloniki, Greece, in 1915.[ After a duration of minimal action for the brigade, D Battery of CXLVI Brigade joined the unit and became D (Howitzer) Battery. In August, 365 Battery was broken up and parts of the battery joined 18 and 64 Batteries. At the end of the war the brigade consisted of 18, 62, and D (Howitzer) Batteries. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3rd_Brigade,_Royal_Field_Artillery
www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/regiments-and-corps/the-roya...
A soldier medically repatriated to the UK as a result of wounds, accidental injury, sickness or ill-health would be transferred onto the strength of a Home Servive only Depot unit while they were being treated. This was for the purposes of pay, administration and discipline. This is probably why his entry in the Register of Soldiers Effects shows his unit as 5a Reserve Battery, Royal Field Artillery.
On the day…………………………………
I could not find a match in the official casualty lists, but these only cover combat deaths and wounds, (plus accidental deaths in a Theatre of War). The additional information section of his CWGC webpage shows him to have served at Salonika. The vast majority of casualties in that Theatre,was through disease and ill-health. In many of the areas being fought over malaria and typhus were endemic, while enteric fever and dysentery were also a major issue. I’ve seen many a soldiers medical records bearing a recommendation that they be returned to the UK for treatment and that any future service should be in a cooler clime.
His place of death makes it likely that he died either in the Norfolk & Norwich Hospital or the Lakenham Military Hospital – particularly as so far I have not found a newspaper report of a coroners inquest following his death.
For now the cause of death of Driver Sarsby remains unknown.
Postscript………………………
There are surviving Ministry of Pensions Cards showing that a Mary A. Sarsby, (presumably his mother), received an allowance as a Guardian of a child of George Frederick Sarsby. From an entry in the Register of Soldiers Effects we know the child is called Henry, but I do not have access to the actual pension cards to see if his full name and date of birth are given. There are no likely birth records in the relevant time frame for a Henry Sarsby. For the allowance to be payable George must have acknowledged the child to be his own, and was probably financially supporting him.
