No.PW.4885, Private, Roger PETTITT
Aged 27
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Roger Pettitt was born in Kirtling in 1888 (Newmarket Q4-1888 3B:500), son of George and Ruth PETTITT, (née CLAYDON).
1891 census...Aged 2, he was at Cottage, The Green, Kirtling with his father George PETTITT [45] general labourer; mother Ruth [51]; sisters Margaret [19], Alice [8] and Salome [7] and brothers Alfred [13] farm labourer, and Francis [5]. All the family were born in Kirtling. There were other siblings, Sarah born 1866, Elizabeth [1867] George [1869], William [1871] and Ada [1874]. 1901 census...Aged 12, he was at Cottage, The Green, Kirtling with his widowed mother Ruth PETTITT [56] a pauper, born Kirtling; his sisters Alice [19] and Salome [16] and brother Roger [15] (farm labourer. All the children were born in Kirtling. His father had died in 1895. 1911 census...Aged 22, a milkman on farm, he was still at the Green, Kirtling with his mother, sister Alice and brother Francis (farm labourer). His mother had borne 10 children and all survived according to the 1911 census but there was apparently one "forgotten" child as previous census make it 11 children. Throughout the census there are serious discrepancies in the ages of his parents, sometimes his father is older than his mother, other times younger The pension card has his mother at Charing Cross,Kirtling His brother Francis was died of his wounds in Glasgow in 1917 see here . |
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He enlisted in Newmarket. The CWGC have him in the 18th Battalion, "Soldiers Died" has him in the 19th. The prefix PW is for Works Battalion
and both 18th and 19th were works battalions. The 18th Battalion (1st Public Works Pioneers) seems the most likely as they were working in the Delville Wood area early November whereas the 19th were back in St Omer by then. 15 of the Middlesex regiment died on the 2nd November 1916, Roger was the only one from the 18th Battalion, the rest were 1st Battalion, but four of them had a Public Works number. Only three have identified graves. |
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