WW1 1914 STAR MEDAL 9379 PRIVATE MAXFIELD 2ND BATTALION GRENADIER GUARDS

Offered is a 1914 Star, impressed named 9379 PTE F. MAXFIELD. 2/G.GDS. With very good copy August November clasp. Comes with M.I.C. medal rolls, Silver War Badge list, list of deserters 1901, Court Martial record & death record.

Private Frederick Maxfield’s records are still currently held at the M.O.D. Some Grenadier Guards records have been transferred to the National Archives and are available for public viewing.

What is known about Frederick Maxfield’s is that he was born in 1883 at Kidsgrove, Staffordshire. A ‘collier’ by trade he enlisted 20/1/1901 at Tunstall but deserted on the 6/4/1901. It is not known if he surrendered himself or was apprehended. On the 18/7/1906 he was court martial-ed for desertion and losing clothing & equipment (When a soldier deserted his clothing and equipment was often acquired by his fellow soldiers and the deserted footed the bill) receiving 84 days imprisonment.

It is possible that Maxfield was time expired and recalled at the outbreak of the war as the 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards landed in France 15/8/1914 and Pte Maxfield joined them on the 12/9/1914. The 2nd Batt G/Gds were part of the 4th guards Brigade, 2nd Division and in 1915 the Guards Division. The Battalion saw heavy fighting with some 1429 officers and men killed during the war. Maxfield was discharged with a pension 2/10/1917 due to myalgia. He died 13/3/1921 at Kidsgrove.

Symptoms of trench fever occur at about 15–25 days following inoculation by the bite of an infected louse or contamination of an abrasion or bite site with fecal material from an infected louse. Although symptoms of trench fever can vary widely (including asymptomatic infections), the disease usually has a sudden onset with high-grade fever (up to 104°C), severe headache and eye pain, dizziness, chills, malaise, myalgia of the legs and back, plus bone pain and hyperaesthesia that is especially prominent in the tibia (hence the nickname, shinbone fever). In classical trench fever, patients also commonly presented with conjunctivitis, gastrointestinal distress, splenomegaly and a maculopapular rash on the trunk resembling rose spots of typhoid fever. The first febrile episode of trench fever lasts roughly 2–4 days. Relapses are common and occur at ~5-day intervals, with a decrease in severity at each subsequent cycle. Recovery can take several weeks (e.g., there are reports of up to 3 months or longer for young soldiers). Trench fever is rarely fatal, but patients may suffer disabilities including myalgia, cardiac issues or neurologic complications following resolution.