Reeves, Frederick Joseph (aka Reeves, Joseph F)

Summary

Father: William REEVES
Mother: Elizabeth CHESSELL

Birth: 1883
Birth Source: Census & FreeBMD

Death: 1915
Death Source: CWGC

Spouse1: Daisy Louise WHITE

Narrative

The birth of Frederick Joseph REEVES, the son of William REEVES and his wife Elizabeth (nee CHESSELL) was recorded within the Ryde Registration Sub-District during 1883 but does not appear in the national GRO Index until the first quarter of 1884.

As Joseph F Reeves he appears on the 1891 census in his parents home at 2 Stanley Cottages, High Street, Oakfield in Ryde on the Isle of Wight. He is 7 years old, was born at Oakfield and is a Scholar.

By the time of the 1901 census Frederick is no longer living with his parents. As yet he has not been positively identified elsewhere on that census but given later events, it is suspected he was serving in the Royal Navy.

On the 1911 census, he appears as Joseph Reeves, a Royal Navy Petty Office in the Barracks at Keyham, Devonport, Devon. He is 29 years old and claims birth at Ryde, Isle of Wight.

During the third quarter of 1912, Joseph Reeves married Daisy Louise WHITE. The IoW Family History Society index to the Isle of White Registrar's entries shows the couple were married at the Parish Church of St John The Baptist, Oakfield, Ryde.
The known child of Frederick Joseph Reeves and Daisy Louise (nee White) is

1. Joseph Frederick Walter Lancelot Reeves, b.reg 1913

It is believed that Frederick's death is that recorded on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's website as Joseph Reeves.  He was serving as Chief Petty Office 203615 in the Royal Navy as part of the crew of HMS Vivid (a shore establishment at Devonport) and died in June 1915. He is buried in the cemetery of St John's Church, Oakfield, Ryde, Isle of Wight.³   The CWGC additionally notes "Son of William Reeves; husband of Daisy Louise Black (formerly Reeves), of 13, Harding Rd., Oakfield, Ryde, Isle of Wight."     As Joseph Reeves, his death in 1915 is also included in the GRO Index to Naval War Deaths 1914-1921, where he is described as Act. C.P.O of HMS Vivid. His place of death is not presently known.

Joseph's sacrifice is commemorated on the Ryde Borough Great War Memorial at the Town Hall, Lind Street Ryde¹ and also on the memorial panels within the Vestry of St John's Church, Ryde². In both instances, he is the only individual with the surname of Reeves.

Research Notes

(1) FreeBMD shows Daisy L WHITE marrying a REEVES against reference 2b 1481 and the image of the GRO Index page confirms this. However, for Joseph REEVES marrying WHITE the references is 2b 1451. The image of the index page is ambiguous, but on balance 1481 is more probable.

Sources

Birth:        FreeBMD 1884, March quarter, Isle of Wight Registration District
                  IoW FHS Reeves + Chessell Birth Registrations
Baptism:  
Marriage: FreeBMD 1912, September quarter, Isle of Wight Registration District
                 IoW FHS http://www.isle-of-wight-fhs.co.uk/bmd_1/marriages/m_results_1.php?party=Groom&surname=Reeves&forenames=&married_start=1912&married_end=1912&Search=Search
Death:      GRO Index to Naval Deaths 1914-1921 Page 300
                 CWGC http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2758746/REEVES,%20JOSEPH

1891 Census: RG12, Piece 0892, Folio 77 reverse, Page 28
1901 Census:
1911 Census: RG14, Piece 13060, Reg.Dist. 278 (Devonport), Sub Dist. 3 (Tamar), Enum.Dist.12-14, Page 7, Row 4

1911 Census: Parents - RG14, Piece 05727, Reg.Dist 93 (Isle of Wight), Sub Dist. 03 (Ryde) Enum.Dist. 12, Schedule 295

¹    Ryde Borough Great War Memorial - http://www.isle-of-wight-memorials.org.uk/towns/ryde1.htm
²    St John's Church War Memorial - http://www.isle-of-wight-memorials.org.uk/churches/rydestjohns1.htm
³    Headstone in St John's Cemetery - http://www.isle-of-wight-memorials.org.uk/war-graves/ryd/rydestjohns_reeves_jf.htm