This is the story of of my Great Grandfather Richard George Read (b.1899 d.1946) He spend over 32 years in the British Army serving all over the world between 1914-46. Born in Pleck, Staffordshire on 28th April 1899, the youngest of three children born to Mary Read, his father (Gunner George Read of the Royal Horse Artillery) died just over a year after his birth in October 1900 whilst serving in the second Boer War. Mary re-married another Artillery man, Frederick Shipp a few years later in 1905. After school Richard left school to work in the Royal Laboratory, Woolwich as a 'lad' from October 1913 to April 1914 when he signed up in the Royal Horse Artillery. He was posted to the BEF during World War 1 and returned home in 1919, he was posted to Palestine in 1921 and from there to Egypt until 1930, during this time he married and his oldest daughter (my Gran) was born. Having worked his way up the ranks to Battery Quarter Master Sergeant (BQMS), he returned to the UK and relocated with his family to Wales, he was awarded his 21 year service medal on January 1936. He re-enlisted in 1938 in Aberystwyth and spent the early War years as Lt. QM (TA) initially with 102nd Regiment, which became the 146th Regiment RA. By Autumn 1941, he had been promoted to Captain but he relinquished his Captain’s pips to join the 118th Field Regiment Royal Artillery. The regiment, as part of the 18th Division, left the UK in 1941 bound initially for the Middle East, but whilst on their journey Churchill decided to re-direct them to aid Singapore’s dire situation at that time. Within weeks of their eventual arrival, the Island surrendered to the invading Japanese on 15th February 1942, and he spent the rest of the war as a POW in Changi. He sadly died within a year of his release in 1946. He was survived by his wife and two daughters of Llangawsai, Llanbadarn Fawr, Aberystwyth. He is commemorated at Llanbadarn Fawr War Memorial