Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Book: | The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Pg.138 | |
| 2. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 5B GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | Military Medal | ||
Early Life :
Born in Bracknell, Berkshire circa 1878. The 1911 census show family resident at 3 King Edwards Road, Maidstone, with 3 children and having been married 10 years. He married Alice in 1901.Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 10th Battalion Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) |
10th (Service) Battalion (Kent County) Formed at Maidstone on 3 May 1915 by Lord Harris, Vice Lieutenant of Kent, at the request of the Army Council. Attached in July 1915 to 118th Brigade in 39th Division but transferred in October to 123rd Brigade in 41st Division. Moved to Aldershot in January 1916. 4 May 1916 : landed in France. November 1917 : moved with the Division to Italy but returned to France in March 1918. |
| Action : The Arras Offensive and associated actions |
9 April - 16 June 1917. The Arras Offensive consisted of a series of linked attacks starting with the Anglo Canadian assault on the dominant Vimy Ridge feature through the battles in the Scarpe River valley and up to the assaults on the Hindenburg line in the summer of 1917.
Detail :
10th Battalion, Queens Battalion (Royal West Kent) Regiment. Service No. G/9300
Uxbridge & W. Drayton Gazette 15 June 1917 R.-S.-M. A. WHEELER KILLED. The sad news has this week been received that Acting-Regimental Sergeant-Major Alfred Wheeler, M.M., only son of Mr. and Mrs. J. Wheeler, of 11, Tachbrook-road, Uxbridge, died in hospital of wounds received on the 7th inst. The deepest sympathy of a wide circle of friends is extended to his parents, and to his wife and family in their great loss. Voluntarily enlisting in the Royal West Kents at Maidstone in August 1915, Sergeant-Major Wheeler gained rapid promotion and held the position of Company Sergeant-Major with distinction. A smart fellow and a gallant soldier, and for his gallantry there was awarded the Military Medal. He had been fighting on the Western Front for some thirteen moths, and when home on leave last November visited Uxbridge. The deceased was thirty-eight years of age, and, like his father, was connected with the Prudential Assurance Company, being at the time of his enlistment an assistant superintendent at Maidstone."
Died in Hospital on Sunday 12th June, although military record states 10th August, 1917.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Euphrates No. 212 E.C. | London |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
22nd November 1911 | 24th January 1912 | 28th February 1912 |
The records of United Grand Lodge for Euphrates Lodge show "Killed in action June 1915" and also "Killed in action June 1917" but this is struck through with a line. Noted as a Superintendent (of Assurance Co.) and resident at Maidstone, when made a Freemason.
Source :
The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:
- The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
- The (UK) National Archives
- Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
- ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry
Additional Source:
- Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
- Researcher : Bruce Littley