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| Frederick Percival Beard 1895-1916 |
In 1901 Walter James Beard was a tobacconist in Burdett Road, Mile End. Walter, who was born in The Strand, London and his wife Bessie must have been fairly prosperous as not only did they have a servant but also a nursemaid for their youngest child. The children included sons James and Walter and a daughter, Beatrice. Another son was Frederick Percival who had been born in 1895 and who was baptised at St.Paul's Bow Common on 19th October 1898. Sometime after 1900 the family moved to Westcliff on Sea, to the house "Trevons" at 35 Preston Road. By 1911 Walter is no longer listed as a tobacconist but rather as the director of a contracting company where his two elder sons work as clerks.
The younger son, Frederick, seems to have developed an interest in matters masonic as he certainly attended lodge meetings at The Middleton Hotel in Southend. He was nineteen when the Great War broke out and like so many of his generation he volunteered for the army. He served as a Rifleman in the 5th Battalion London Rifle Brigade. He was killed in action on 1 July 1916 - the first day of the Battle of the Somme, the very same day as Percival George Clappen who is also remembered in this church. Frederick is commemorated on the Thiepval Monument Addenda Panel Five, front terrace
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| The Beard Family home at 35 Preston Road |
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