Reginald Chave Parsons

Reginald was a World War 1 veteran enlisting on 21 Dec 1914 and having served as a Sergeant with Royal Army Service Corps in Syria, Egypt and Palestine. He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal. He was recorded as being 5 foot 6 inches. 

In a handwritten diary for 1944, Reginald Chave Parsons has briefly listed his operational duties for that year. One of the entries in October reads "to Stevenstone House, Torrington to make film of the work of the unit". Then in November a further entry reads, "to Braunton for party re disbanding of unit and to see the film". You can see how closely the Diary resembles the Countryman's Diary training manual. A transcript mentioning training is here.

It is unknown if the film still exists.

The photograph was taken in 1944 when Reginald bought his first tractor. The poster (although dated 1939) was used to deter people from getting near to the OB as it is known he never grew mushrooms !