Pargeter, Reginald Amherst
Second Lieut. Reginald Amherst Pargeter was in his second year in the Engineering Department of King's College when war was declared and he was one of the first to receive a commission. Gazetted to the 3rd Suffolks, on going to the front he was attached to the 1st Suffolks and was reported "wounded and missing" on May 10th, 1915 and "unofficially reported killed" on June 8th, 1915. Educated at Rossall School, at the Camborne School of Mines, and at King's College, Mr. Pargeter endeared himself to everybody by his unfailing good spirits and kindliness. The first of his year to fall in the great cause no one was more fitted for this than Reggie Pargeter. Simple, unaffected, and very "English," could he have known his fate he would have accepted it cheerily and still have "Pushed breast forward in the battle." His loss will be sincerely mourned by the men of his year and also by members of the staff, one of whom sends this brief notice in affectionate remembrance of a friendship begun long before Mr. Pargeter entered this College. R. W. , King's College Review, June 1916
Second Lieutenant Suffolk Regiment * King's College * son of Mr. E. T. Pargeter of Leiston * missing believed killed on 8th May 1915. While occupying the front line trenches on the Frezenberg Ridge near Zonnebeke the enemy succeeded in isolating the battalion by a bombardment of shells, bombs and asphyxiating gas. The telephone and other wires were cut miles behind the firing line and for two or three days all was chaos. The only road up to the salient went through Ypres and this was in flames. On 8th May 1915 the enemy after being repeatedly repulsed succeeded in capturing the Suffolk position by which time the trench parapets had been levelled to the ground. Second Lieutenant Pargeter and six other officers at first reported missing were afterwards stated to have been killed on that day, about which period the second battle of Ypres died out. OTC Roll of the Fallen​
Biographical
| Surname(s) | Pargeter |
|---|---|
| First name(s) | Reginald Amherst |
| Date of birth | 1893 |
| Place of birth | Hampstead, London |
| Family details | Son of Edward Thomas Pargeter and Ada Matilda Pargeter of Reculver Hatch. Herne Bay, Kent |
| Previous education | Rossall School; Camborne School of Mines |
| College | King's College London and/or King's College London Hospital |
| Dept / course | Faculty of Engineering |
| Military unit | Suffolk Regt. 3rd Bttn. Attd. 1st Battn. |
| War / conflict | World War One (1914-1918) |
| Date of death | 8 May 1915 |
| Age at death | 22 |
| Rank at death | Second Lieutenant |
| Commemoration(s) | King's College Chapel; Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Belgium; Aldeburgh War Memorial |
| Notes | On 29th April 1915, 2nd Lieut RA Pargeter wrote a letter to Mrs Clare Neely informing her that her son, Hugh, had been wounded. Hugh Neely, an alumnus of Guy's Hospital Medical School, sadly died and is also commemorated on this website. |
| Sources | King's College London Archives; Commonwealth War Graves Commission; additional information contributed by Jolyon Neely; University of London OTC Roll of the Fallen |
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