COMMEMORATED IN PERPETUITY BY THE

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Frederick James Tarry attested in October 1914 and disembarked in France with the Royal Berkshire 7th (Service) battalion on 29 June 1915. In November of 1915 his unit moved to the Balkans theatre of war, in Salonika, Greece. In 1918, whilst in service in Salonika, Private Tarry came in to the care of No. 31 Casualty Clearing Station at Dedeagatch. He died of Bronchial Pneumonia on 14 December 1918, a few months after Armistice (The Salonica Armistice was signed by Bulgaria on 29th September 1918 and hostilities ceased on September 30th).

Dedeagatch (now Alexandroupolis) belonged to Turkey until 1913, and to Bulgaria from 1913 to 1919. It was bombarded by an Allied squadron in October 1915 and was occupied by Commonwealth forces in October 1918. No 31 Casualty Clearing Station was posted in the town until the end of the year. The cemetery was used from October to December 1918. After the Armistice, 18 graves were brought in from other cemeteries, 13 of them from Kavalla Anglo-French Cemetery. Kavalla was a port of call for hospital ships in November 1918.

The cemetery now contains 64 Commonwealth burials of the First World War.

There are also two Second World War burials and 16 burials of other nationalities, mostly Serbian civilians.

(MH106/603 can be found at The National Archives in Kew, and contains First World War Representative Medical Records of Servicemen from No. 31 Casualty Clearing Station) 

The Tarry family were born, and have lived in Steventon since about 1819 according to 1851 Census. Frederick was born in Steventon the youngest of three surviving siblings, sadly 1 child died before 1911. in 1881 (2 years before Frederick was born) his parents, William James and Sarah Ann Tarry were living at Station Road Cottage, Steventon. So it is likely that this is where Fred was born. They moved to a property "Near Causeway Crossing" (which my best guess puts it in the grounds of 97 The Causeway), and were living there between 1909 and 1930 according to Berkshire Electoral Rolls. Fred had a job as a Journeyman Baker in 1911, so he was working away from home a lot. He married Ada Jane Holmes in Worcestershire in 1912 and they set up home in Shipton Oliffe, Andoversford, Gloucestershire. Which is the address given at the time of death on Frederick's Army service Pension card, where his widow Ada is a Dependant. In their short married life it was not long before Frederick was away at war, and he died in Greece in 1918. They had no children.

For additional information regarding this soldier and his family. Please click here  or here for information from his regiment