Herbert Edward Rendall was born in West Coker, Somerset, in the autumn of 1889. He was one of eight children to William and Mary Rendall. William was a foreman at a local twine factory, although by the time of the 1911 census, he had also taken on ownership of a local grocer’s shop. Herbert and his younger brother, Clifford, managed the shop for their father.
In the spring of 1913, Herbert married Thirza Shire. She was the daughter of an agricultural labourer from Yeovil and, by the time of their marriage, she had taken on work as a servant for the vicar of St Leonard’s Church in Misterton, near Crewkerne.
When war was declared, Herbert joined the Somerset Light Infantry. Sadly, little detail of his military service remains. It is clear that he was hard working and well thought of, as he progressed through the ranks to Sergeant, and transferred to the 1st Battalion of the Wiltshire Regiment.
Herbert served on the Western Front, and, as the war entered its final months, he would certainly have been involved in the Battles of the Lys, on the Hindenburg Line and in the closing Battles of the Somme.
By the autumn of 1918, Sergeant Rendall was back on home soil, either for home support, or for medical reasons. He was based in Bury, Manchester, and had fallen ill. While the full details are unclear, whatever condition he had contracted got the better of him, and he passed away on 4th November 1918. He was 29 years of age.
Herbert Edward Rendall was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the quiet graveyard of St Martin’s Church in West Coker.
Records vary over the date of Herbert’s passing. While his headstone confirms 4th November, military records – and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website – suggest the following day. Similarly, some documents suggest he was 30 when he died, while his birth and death records confirm he was in his thirtieth year.
Thirza went on to have a full life. She married again in 1923, to a Henry Tregale, and the couple went on to have a daughter. She lived to a ripe age, passing away in the autumn of 1981, at the age of 93.
Death and Service 