Albert Eastment was born at Hardington on 7 September 1899.[1] He was one of three illegitimate children born to Emma Eastment, the daughter of Reuben Eastment, a farm labourer. His brother or half-brother, George, was born in 1884.[2] His sister, Mabel Jane, was born on 17 December 1900.[3]
Emma raised her three children in a four-room cottage at Hardington Marsh that housed her father.[4]
Albert entered Hardington School on 20 June 1904.[5]
In 1911, his mother married Edward Marsh.[6] His grandfather, Reuben Eastment, died in 1912.[7] His mother died in 1913 or 1917.[8]
During the First World War, Albert served with the Royal Warwick Regiment and then as a Rifleman with the 12th Battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles.[9]
Albert was killed on 13 October 1918. His body lies in the Dadizeele New British Cemetery.[10]
His brother, George, also fought in the war but survived.[11]
References
[1] Hardington School admission register; Civil Registration Birth Index.
[2] Civil Registration Birth Index.
[3] Hardington School admission register; Civil Registration Birth Index; 1939 Register.
[4] RG13, piece 2297, folio 41, page 2; RG14, piece 14381.
[5] Hardington School admission register.
[6] Civil Registration Marriage Index.
[7] Civil Registration Death Index.
[8] Civil Registration Death Index.
[9] Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919; Ireland, World War I Casualties, 1914-1922.
[10] Find a Grave.
[11] World War I Pension Ledgers and Index Cards, 1914-1923.