Reginald Sidney Bryant

Story:
Reginald Sidney Bryant was born on 19 January 1898 in Middle Chase, Bower Chalke, Wiltshire. (His name was originally registered as Sidney Reginald Bryant but thereafter was always known as Reginald S. Bryant.) He was the son of James Bryant, a Shepherd, and Elizabeth Bryant (nee Dodington). He lived his early life in Bower Chalke but his family moved to Melbury Abbas, Shaftesbury, Dorset, and he registered that address on the 1918 Absent Voters List. He had enlisted and joined the Dorsetshire Regiment as a Private (Service No. 3285). He served with the 1/4th Battalion with new Service No. 201453. It is not known in which theatre of war he served but on his discharge on 25 April 1919 he was awarded the Victory and British War Medals. He appears with his parents in Melbury Abbas on the 1921 Census and went on to marry Florence Cannings during 1934 which was registered in Shaftesbury. By the 1939 Register he was living in the Old Workhouse, Tisbury, Wiltshire, working as a Shepherd and also volunteering as an Auxiliary Fireman. His death was recorded in Salisbury, Wiltshire, during 1969. Of his brothers, Henry James Bryant, served but died whereas Herbert George Bryant served and survived.