Richard Henry Bateman was born in St John's Wood, London, the second of the three sons of William Bateman (b.1849) and Alice Bateman née Bette (b.1850). His birth was registered in the 2nd quarter of 1877 in the Marylebone registration district and his father was a coachman. He was baptised on 5 August 1877 at St Mark's Church, Hamilton Terrace, Marylebone, the baptismal register shows the family address as 25 Greville Road, Marylebone. His elder brother, William Bramstone Bateman had been born in 1871, but had died aged 8 years in 1880.
When the 1881 census was taken his father was shown as residing at Albert Mews, Hampstead, whilst he was shown with his mother and younger brother, Charles William Bateman (b.1881), as visiting the home of Richard & Emily Handover at 42 Rackham Street, North Kensington. In the 1891 census he is shown as living at 4a Lancaster Yard, Paddington, with his parents and brother.
The London Gazette shows him being appointed without competition as a London postman on 2 May 1896 and the 1901 census confirms him as a postman residing at 29 Ranston Street, Marylebone, with his parents and brother. Later that year on 26 December 1901 he married Lottie Susan Patrick (1880-1970) at Christ Church, Marylebone. The marriage register states that his occupation was a postman and gave 85 Earl Street, Marylebone as the residence of them both. They had six children: Reginald William Bateman (1902-1982), Henry Charles Bateman (1905-1981), Cecil Bramstone Bateman (1907-1982), Ernest Leslie Bateman (1909-1959), George Frederick Bateman (1913-2001) and Joan Irene Bateman (1917-2000).
When their eldest son, Reginald, was baptised on 25 October 1903 at St Peter's Church, Paddington, the baptismal register confirms that he remained as a postman and the family address was 82 Bravington Road, Maida Hill. The baptismal register at Christ Church, Marylebone, dated 5 November 1905 shows that when their second son, Henry, was baptised the family lived at 102 Miles Buildings, Penfold Place, Marylebone. Their third son, Cecil, was baptised on 8 September 1907 at St Mary's Church, Hanwell, and it is recorded in the baptismal register that the family lived at 46 Framfield Road, Hanwell.
The 1911 census confirms that he was still a postman and that he as living in a five roomed property at 18 Claygate Road, West Ealing, with his wife and four children.
He enlisted as a Driver in the Royal Field Artillery, service number 234129 and was attached to their No.1 Special Bullock Battery when he died suffering from tuberculosis, aged 41 years, on 29 May 1918 in Allahabad, India. He was buried in Plot E, Grave 81 in the Allahabad New Cantonment Cemetery, Uttar Pradesh, India.
On 22 February 1919 probate was granted to his widow and his effects totalled £378-15s-2d. His army effects of £21-12s-9d together with his £5-10s-0d war gratuity, making a total of £27-2s-9d were sent to his widow at 18 Claygate Road, West Ealing, on 1 July 1919.
He was posthumously awarded the British War Medal 1914-1918 but not the Victory Medal. This was because the British War Medal was awarded alone to British soldiers who rendered service overseas but not in a theatre of war, including garrison duty in India.
He is shown as Bateman, R. H. on the Western Postal District war memorial in Mount Pleasant, London, EC1.
He is also commemorated on Face 4 of the Madras 1914-1918 War Memorial, Mount Poonamallee Road, Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India, on the Ealing Memorial Gates at Pitzhanger Manor House, Ealing Green, Mattock Lane, Ealing, W5 5BG, on Page 26 of the Post Office Fellowship of Remembrance's Book of Remembrance 1914-1920, on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's website and on the Imperial War Museum's Lives of the First World War website.
Credit for this entry to: Andrew Behan.
