Frederick (Fred) Vallis
There are over 306,000 commemorations to the men and women of the Commonwealth Forces in the United Kingdom and Ireland at over 13,000 locations. Around 170,000 of these are burials, with the remainder being honoured on memorials to the missing. Fred Vallis is the only Commonwealth War Graves Commission grave in the Upper Bucklebury cemetery.
Frederick (Fred) Vallis - 1892-1918 (Died 30/11/18)
Fred lived with his parents Thomas and Mary Ann Vallis in 1891/1901/1911 in Tyler’s Lane. He appears in the 1911 Census in Bucklebury. Frederick worked as a Bricklayer’s labourer when he was 18 in Thatcham Mills. He was born in Bucklebury in 1892 but his parents and siblings were born in Wiltshire and Hampshire.
His father Thomas Vallis was a general labourer and probably worked at Hill Top Farm along with his eldest son, John Vallis, who was also a general labourer. His father, Thomas Vallis, and his mother MaryAnn Rose were married 03 November 1877 in Burbage, Wiltshire. Frederick’s Grandfather was James Vallis born 1820 in East Hanney, Berkshire who was a basket maker. When Thomas was 5 years old they were listed in the 1861 census in the Tything of Seymour, Burbage, Wiltshire. Thomas died 28/11/1921
Thomas received Frederick’s effects after the war in 1919. His effects amounted to £12-3s-2d, which included War Gratuity of £6 10s 0d given to his father. The gratuity was introduced in December 1918 as a payment to be made to those men who had served in WW1 for a period of 6 months or more home service or for any length of service if a man had served overseas. The fact that his death is registered with Bradfield Registration District, which includes Bucklebury, probably means he died here in Berkshire and not on active service overseas. Without a copy of his death certificate we cannot confirm this, however further research by the Great War Forum has found a pension card that lists his cause of death as being Influenza & Pneumonia, 17 days after the end of the First World War 11/11/1918.
He was a private (215828) in the 3rd Labour Battalion, 439th Agricultural Company of the Labour Corps. The Company were based in Reading. This probably means he was unfit for active service by either illness or injury towards the end of the war. The absence of a Medal Index Card tells us it is unlikely he served overseas.
The Labour Corps was raised in 1915 and disbanded in 1921, today their roles are undertaken by the Royal Logistics Corps.
The Corps grew to some 389,900 men (more than 10% of the total size of the Army) by the Armistice. Of this total, around 175,000 were working in the United Kingdom and the rest in the theatres of war. The Corps was manned by officers and other ranks who had been medically rated below the "A1" condition needed for front line service. Many were returned wounded. Labour Corps units were often deployed for work within range of the enemy guns, sometimes for lengthy periods.
The formation of the Labour Corps was authorised by a Royal Warrant issued as Army Order 85 published on 22 February 1917. The order specifically made the point that the raising of the Corps was to be a temporary measure but it would be regarded as a Corps for the purposes of the Army Act. Regimental pay would be the same as that of the infantry of the line.
The Corps always suffered from its treatment as something of a second class organization: for example, the men who died are commemorated under their original Regiment, with Labour Corps being secondary. Researching men of the Corps was made more difficult by this until the publication of the mammoth 'Soldiers died in the great war' collection where the Labour Corps was finally given it's own section in volume 80.
The Labour Corps block of numbers 170141 to 375600 were allotted between June 1917 and September 1917. His Type 2 War Gratuity of £6 10s is indicative of an enlistment date of September 1917, so this is self-consistent. It also indicates he was unlikely to have been with an earlier unit prior to the Labour Corps.
The number of 709828 on his Pension Card looks a bit odd. If it is a later LC number, why was he re-numbered? And if he was re-numbered, why is he not commemorated with that (later) number?
No Labour, No Battle tells us that the block of numbers 694400 to 711000 was allotted to men who enlisted in 1919 for exhumation and reburial duties in France. But Frederick died before 1919.
Soldiers had a 'service record', sadly about 70% of WWI records were destroyed from the 1930’s onwards by various civil service audits of the bulk of the material, however the worst damage came from a direct hit on the Arnside (London) repository in an air raid on the 2nd day of the Blitz and the damage also caused in putting the raging fires out. Pre WWI and records up to 1920 are held at the National Archives in Kew, and are available to view there by appointment.
A good reference on the Labour Corps is the book "No Labour, No Battle" by Starling & Lee but contains no details of the 439th.
Agricultural companies were not so much recruited as formed from soldiers no longer fit enough for front line combat duties, in much the same way as some labour battalions were. Their task was to work the land as there were major labour shortages due to the war and food production was vital. Farmers were charged for the use of personnel from them. Some of the men were trained in tractor driving which many of the older farmers were unable or unwilling to learn. Murray MACLEAN's book 'Farming and Forestry on the Western Front 1915- 1919' published in 2004 is exceptionally good - it has 124 splendid photographs covering farming and forestry on the Home Front and the Western Front. It is correct that Agricultural Companies were largely made up of those who were no longer fit for front line duties however there was another group . When the war office raised the level for conscription from 45 to 50 the those new men could opt to join an Agriculture Company.
Thanks to Helen Ralph from Bucklebury History Group & experts from the Great War Forum.
