Private Hedley Richard Farr

Pte Hedley Richard Farr, G/20105, 17th Battalion Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own), was reported to have been killed in action on the Somme on August 8th, 1916. He was aged 38, single and had lived with his widowed mother Eliza (nee Groom) at 32 Liverpool Road, Luton.

He died just 15 days after leaving England, having been passed by the Medical Board at Bedford as fit for general service. Yet, as his mother and friends confirmed, he had suffered from a heart condition for 12 months before he enlisted, and his own medical adviser had told him he was hardly fit to remain in his occupation as a blocker in the hat trade.

He had appealed to the local Tribunal and been granted a month's exemption, while hoping that because of his condition he would be given conditional exemption. He felt he could not continue appealing and getting only a month, and eventually joined the Middlesex Regiment in April 1916.

His mother received the news of her son's death on August 27th but without any details. She said: "I feel sure he was never in actual fighting, and I feel sure he had died without getting into it. I think the strain has been too much."

Born in July 1878 in Luton, Pte Farr was a member of Luton Liberal Club. He was employed by Messrs Webb and Baker Ltd, of John Street, Luton. His father had died in 1907.