Chapter XXXIII: Part 33

=FOSTER, ARCHIBALD COURTENAY HAYES=, Lieut., Hampshire Regt., attd. 4th King’s African Rifles, 4th _s._ of the late Montagu H. Foster, of Stubbington House, Fareham, co. Hants, by his wife, Mary Henrietta Foster (The Lodge, Stubbington, Fareham), dau. of the Rev. Richard Foster Carter; _b._ Stubbington House afsd., 19 May, 1886; educ. Stubbington House and Cheltenham; gazetted 2nd Lieut. Hampshire Regt. 24 Jan. 1906; promoted Lieut. 19 Oct. 1907, and seconded for service with the King’s West African Rifles, 8 Oct. 1913; took part in the Jubaland campaign, 1914, and was killed in action at Marabu, British East Africa, 19 Sept. 1914; _unm._ It appears from the official report of this action that on the night of 6 Sept. orders were given for Lieut. Foster and A Coy. King’s African Rifles to start at dawn and regain touch with the enemy, Lieuts. Phillips and Hardingham, with 80 King’s African Rifles, to support him. No sign of the enemy was seen on the 7th or 8th. On the 19th the three section A Coy. 4th King’s African Rifles (Lieut. Foster, King’s African Rifles), with one maxim, one section Somali Mounted Infantry (Capt. Isaacson, East African Rifles, and Lieut. Miles, East African Mounted Rifles), “were occupying Campa Ya Marabu. The Somalis and mules were occupying a thorn boma ‘A.’ and the King’s African Rifles a similar boma ‘B.’ It was arranged between Capt. Isaacson and Lieut. Foster that, in case of attack, the mules were to be taken out of the boma ‘A’ and crossed over to the north bank of River Mol Turesh at point ‘D’ through bushes at point ‘E.’ A picquet, composed of Somalis, was posted at point ‘G.’ At 5.30 a.m. the enemy advancing up the river came into touch with the picquet at ‘G.’ Capt. Isaacson immediately ordered the mules across the river and then proceeded towards the picquet, shortly afterwards meeting a wounded Somali retiring on the boma, who reported the enemy to be in strength. The enemy, estimated at three or four white officers and rank and file, had now opened out on either side of the track at point ‘G’ and kept up a heavy fire; seven of the mules were hit in crossing the river. Lieut. Foster, on being informed that the enemy’s strength was only about 100, ordered his company to advance to bushes ‘E’--one section King’s African Rifles, one section Somalis, two sections King’s African Rifles on the right, with Capt. Isaacson and Lieut. Miles. The enemy kept up a very heavy fire to our front and left. As our men reached point ‘E’ Lieut. Foster was hit, but continued to urge on his men in a very gallant manner.... The whole action lasted about two hours, and from reports received later from the Masai the enemy appear to have retired in disorder.... This little action was fought with spirit and determination. Lieut. Foster died a gallant death, and the British officers and rank and file of the Somali section and A Coy. 4th King’s African Rifles gave him courageous support.”

=FOSTER, ARTHUR CEDRIC=, 2nd Lieut., 1st Battn. Grenadier Guards, yr. _s._ of Capt. Arthur Wellesley Foster, of Brockhampton Court, co. Hereford, M.A., J.P., D.L., T.D., late Master of the South Herefordshire Foxhounds (now serving as Brigade Instructor of Musketry, attd. to the Staffordshire Infantry Brigade), by his wife, Alice Madeline, dau. of the late Eben Dyer Jordan, of Boston, U.S.A.; _b._ Caton Green, co. Lancaster, 26 April, 1891; educ. at Remenham, Eton, and Exeter College, Oxford; entered the Diplomatic Service in Feb. 1914, and was for some time Hon. Attaché to the British Legation at Stockholm. When the European War broke out he was home on leave, and obtaining his release from the Foreign Office, volunteered and joined the Public Schools Battn., 18 Sept. 1914, from which he was gazetted 2nd Lieut. to the Grenadier Guards, 24 Oct. following. He went to France, 12 Jan. 1915; was wounded in action at Neuve Chapelle, 11 March, 1915, and died in Merville Hospital the following day; _unm._ He was buried in Merville Churchyard. He was a good all-round athlete, and at Eton won both the Junior and Senior Long Jump, the latter in 1909, when he created a record of 20 ft. 1 in. He also played frequently for the Hereford County Cricket Club. His brother, Lieut. Cuthbert Foster, R.M.A., is (1916) on active service.

=FOSTER, DAVID=, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., Ch. B. 9343), S.S. 106620, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=FOSTER, FREDERICK=, Petty Officer, 1st Class, R.N.V.R. (Sussex), 298, H.M.S. Hawke, _s._ of John Foster, of 4, Nelson Road, Hastings; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.

=FOSTER, HERBERT KNOLLYS=, 2nd Lieut., 1st Battn. Gloucester Regt., only _s._ of the Rev. Herbert Charles Foster, T.D., Vicar of Groombridge, co. Sussex, and Hon. Canon of Gloucester Cathedral, by his wife, Susan Edith, dau. of Rev. Prebendary Robert Shuttleworth Sutton, of Winkenhurst, Hellingly, formerly Rector of Rye, Sussex; _b._ All Saints’ Vicarage, Gloucester, 18 Oct. 1895; educ. Glyngarth Preparatory School, Cheltenham, Marlborough College, and Sandhurst; obtained his commission in the 1st Battn. Gloucester Regt. 8 Aug. 1914; went to France, 20 Sept. 1914, and was killed in action at Gheluvelt, near Ypres, Flanders, 29 Oct. 1914; _unm._

=FOSTER, JOHN=, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 8497), S.S. 104740, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=FOSTER, JOHN THOMAS=, L.-Corpl., No. 12374, 10th (Service) Battn. Durham Light Infantry, eldest _s._ of Robert Foster, of 28, Wear Street, Southwick-on-Wear, Shipwright, by his wife, Dorothy Ann, dau. of John Rames; _b._ Southwick, co. Durham, 15 July, 1886; educ. National School there; was employed in a shipyard at Sunderland; enlisted 10 Aug. 1914; trained in Surrey, went to the Front in May and was killed in action in France, 31 July, 1915, and buried at Sanctuary Wood, near the dressing station; _unm._

=FOSTER, LAURENCE TALBOT LISLE=, Lieut., 16th (Service) Battn. Durham Light Infantry, 4th _s._ of the Rev. Albert John Foster, Vicar of Wootton and Rural Dean of Haynes, by his wife, Edith Margaret, dau. of the Rev. T. A. Voules, Rector of Beercrocombe, Somerset: _b._ Wootton Vicarage, co. Bedford, 15 Feb. 1885; educ. Eastbourne College (Scholar); was a Forest Manager in the Bombay and Burma Trading Corporation; gazetted Lieut. 16th Durham L.I., 21 Nov. 1914; left England for the Dardanelles, 12 May, 1915, was attd. to the 5th Manchesters, and was killed in action at Anafarta 7 Aug. 1915; _unm._ His Colonel wrote: “As an officer he was splendid, always steadily doing his duty and quite fearless. He led his men with the utmost bravery, and was killed, as he would have liked to have been, at the head of his men, and without suffering. He is a great loss to the Battn. and you have every right to be proud of him, as we are.”

=FOSTER, ROBERT=, Private, No. 8/137, Otago Infantry Battn. New Zealand Expeditionary Force, yst. _s._ of the late Edward Foster, of Lowburn Ferry, by his wife, Christine (Lowburn Ferry, via Cromwell, Central Otago, New Zealand), dau. of George Dalziell, of Shetland; _b._ Lowburn aforesaid, 10 Aug. 1894; educ. Lowburn Public School, and was engaged in farming. He volunteered for Imperial service six days after the declaration of war, joined the Otago Infantry Battn., 11 Aug. 1914, and left New Zealand with the main body. He took part in the landing at the Dardanelles on 25 April, and remained in the trenches until 4 Aug. 1915, on which day he was killed in action. His second brother, William, died on active service (see following notice), and his eldest and now only surviving brother is now (1916) on active service with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force.

=FOSTER, WILLIAM=, Trooper, No. 9/698, Otago Mounted Rifles, New Zealand Expeditionary Force, 2nd _s._ of the late Edward Foster, of Lowburn Ferry, by his wife, Christina (Lowburn Ferry, via Cromwell, Central Otago, New Zealand), dau. of George Dalziell, of Shetland (see preceding notice); _b._ Dunedin, 25 May, 1888; educ. Lowburn Public School; volunteered for Imperial service after the outbreak of war, and joined the Otago Mounted Rifles, 10 Oct. 1914; left New Zealand with the second reinforcements and landed at Anzac on his 27th birthday. He served in the trenches for three months, when he was removed to Malta suffering from pneumonia, and afterwards contracted enteric fever and died at St. Andrew’s Hospital there, after four months’ illness, 16 Nov. 1915; _unm._ He was well known as a footballer, and before the declaration of war was for some years one of the representatives for Vincent County in the interprovincial Rugby matches.

=FOTHERINGHAM, ALEXANDER BOYNE=, Leading Seaman, No. 2/2693, Anson Battn. R.N., yr. _s._ of John Fotheringham, of 34, Dudley Avenue, Leith, Baker, by his wife, Mary Ann, dau. of Alexander Boyne; _b._ Leith, 26 April, 1894; educ. Bonnington Academy, Leith, and George Heriot’s School, Edinburgh; and was employed as goods clerk in the Leith Walk branch of the Caledonian Railway until the outbreak of war. He had joined the R.N.V.R. in July, 1913, and after the outbreak of war was called up and attached to the Anson Battn. Royal Naval Division; served at Antwerp Sept. 1914, and afterwards at the Dardanelles, took part in the landing at Cape Helles, 26 April, and was killed in action there, 6 May, following; _unm._

=FOUCAR, CLEMENT AUGUSTE=, Rifleman No. 1931, 9th Battn. (Queen Victoria Rifles) The London Regt. (T.F), 4th _s._ of the late Ferdinand Louis Foucar, of Rangoon and Moulmein, Burma, Teak Merchant [of a Huguenot family, who came from Proisy in Picardy, after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, 1685], by his wife, Martha, dau. of the late (--) Grasemann; _b._ Rangoon, 11 Sept. 1892; educ. privately and at Doncaster Grammar School, etc.; joined the Queen Victoria Rifles after the declaration of war, in Aug. 1914, and was killed in action on Hill 60, near Ypres, 21 April, 1915; _unm._

=FOULKES, HERBERT=, Stoker, P.O. (R.F.R., Ch. B. 10294), 299552, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=FOUND, JOHN=, Mechanician, Po./279973 H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=FOURNIER, EMILE=, Private, No. 26321, 14th Battn. (65th Regt.), 3rd Brigade, Canadian Expeditionary Force, _s._ of Adelard Fournier, of Hull, P.Q., Canada; _b._ Hull, aforesaid, 1 Feb. 1896; educ. Hull Brothers’ College, and with the Capucin Fathers at Ottawa; enlisted early in Aug. 1914, immediately after the declaration of war; left Canada with the first contingent in Oct.; went to France in Feb., and died in hospital at Rouen, 10 May, 1915, of wounds in the right leg received in action at Langemarck, 27 April; _unm._ His commanding officer, Capt. D. E. Serres, wrote that “he was one of his best men,” adding, “I praise you to have in your family such a courageous and brave child.”

=FOWLER, CHRISTOPHER RICHARD=, Private, No. 1465, 1st Battn. H.A.C., 2nd _s._ of Arthur Christopher Fowler, of 12, Grange Park, Ealing, W., Printer and Bookbinder, by his wife Laura Jennie, dau. of Richard Clarke Pauling, C.E.; _b._ London, 27 Feb. 1893; educ. Xavierian College, Mayfield, Sussex, and St. Edmund’s College, Old Hall, Ware, co. Herts; was apprenticed to his father as a Printer and Bookbinder through the Stationers’ Company; on the outbreak of war enlisted in the H.A.C.; served in France and Flanders, and was killed in action in Flanders, 13 March, 1915; buried at Lochre, nine miles from Ypres; _unm._ His Capt., Ernest Boyle, wrote: “An attack was made upon the German position, and our company held a trench immediately in front. We were subject to very heavy firing from German machine guns and your son was unhappily hit in the head. He was unconscious from the first and cannot have even been aware that he was hit, so he suffered no pain at all. He survived his wound some hours. As he still lived, as soon as it was dark he was taken away to the hospital, where he died, so I do not know whether he ever recovered consciousness, but I do not think he did. Two others of his company gave their lives for their country the same day ... Personally I had not known your son very long, as I have only recently joined his company, but I soon came to know him and greatly admired him. He was the heart and soul of the football teams, and I had a long talk with him on the morning of his death about future matches. He was so keen in all he did, so determined, so plucky and so willing, showing all those characteristics which endear a man at the front to his comrades and to his officers”; a Sergt., Geoffrey Ernst: “At the time we were supporting an attack by keeping up a heavy rifle fire on the German trenches, and unfortunately they turned a machine gun on us, which, I am afraid, was the cause of all our trouble. At the time, too, he was blazing away with his rifle most cheerily.” Private Brown also wrote to his own father: “During the last time up I have lost my great pal, Dicky Fowler.... We have had a very hot time, and this last time up we had twelve good days of it. Dick was hit on the Friday (12th inst.) in the afternoon and died early on Saturday morning. Glad to say the old boy lived long enough to be brought back to this village, as now he is buried in the churchyard. He was a grand fellow and such a ‘White man.’ We were always together, whether in the firing line or back here; naturally I feel his loss, but it must be cruel for his people and his girl. He hadn’t missed a single trench, and both he and I were proud of our record, but he could not have died a finer death, as his shoulder was hard against the parapet. This was how it happened. We were assisting in a charge by some well-known regulars (great pals of ours) by firing straight in front of us to keep the Huns opposite down below their parapet, and avoid them firing on our chaps, who were making the charge on our right. We were to fire straight and then sweep along to the left as our boys came along, but the blighters swept a machine gun along the top of our parapet and poor Dick got one right through the head. When I got to him he was unconscious and he never regained his senses. Of course I was with him until night, and then he was carried back on the stretcher. The bullet went right through his head and it was a marvel he lived so long, but he was a fine healthy chap and any amount of natural pluck.” Private Fowler was a keen sportsman and played cricket and football for the Neasden Sports Clubs.

=FOWLER, GEORGE=, Transport Sergt., No. 128, 1/5th Battn. The Royal Scots (T.F.), 2nd _s._ of Colour-Sergt. George Fowler, of 55, Lochend Road West, Edinburgh (who served with the 5th Royal Scots for 35 years), by his wife, Elizabeth, dau. of Malcolm Kirk, of Musselburgh, Painter; _b._ Edinburgh, 25 Aug. 1887; educ. Regent Street Public School there; was a Clerk in Midlothian County Council; joined the 5th Royal Scots, then the Queen’s Edinburgh Rifle Volunteers, 16 Feb. 1905; volunteered for active service on the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914, left England for the Dardanelles on 21 March, 1915, and was shot by a sniper on 21 May, 1915, and died there the next day; _unm._ Buried at B. Line, W. Beach. Sergt. Fowler was the Battn. representative at the King’s Coronation in London, and was secretary of the Sports Committee (1912–13), the two years that the Battn. sports were held.

=FOWLER, THEODORE HUMPHREY=, Corpl., No. 2446, Honourable Artillery Coy., _s._ of Oliver Humphrey Fowler, of Cirencester, M.D.; _b._ Cirencester, co. Gloucester, 25 Sept. 1879; educ. Lancing College; volunteered after the outbreak of war and enlisted in the Honourable Artillery Coy., 3 Oct. 1914; served with the Expeditionary Force in France, etc.; was wounded at Kemmel, and died in the County of London War Hospital, Epsom, 17 Aug. 1915; _unm._ His brother, Capt. R. C. Fowler, Northants Regt., is now (1916) on active service.

=FOWLER, WILLIAM=, Stoker, R.N.R., T. 2294, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914; _m._

=FOWLER WILLIAM HENRY=, Private, No. 21600, 7th Battn. Canadian Expeditionary Force, 2nd _s._ of John Busteed Fowler, of 8, Sidneyville, Bellevue Park, Cork, Member of Cork Stock Exchange, and Insurance Agent, by his wife, Annie Louisa, dau. of William Henry Hill, B.E.; _b._ Summount, Cork, 7 Aug. 1893; educ. Cork Grammar School and University College Cork; went to Canada in Feb. 1912, and settled at Calgary, Alberta; was an official of the Bank of Commerce, volunteered on the outbreak of War, and enlisted, 11 Aug. 1914; left with the 1st Contingent in Oct. 1914; trained on Salisbury Plain during the winter of 1914–15; went to France, March, 1915, and was killed in action near Ypres, 27 April, 1915; _unm._ A comrade wrote: “I was right there when it happened, and we buried him. We had not time to do very much, for the bullets were flying all round us, but we wrapped him in his blanket, and we put a cross up.” His two brothers both enlisted when war was declared and served with the Canadian Expeditionary Force in France. Private Richard T. Fowler, Princess Patricia’s Light Infantry, was invalided home in Nov. 1915, and Private John G. Fowler, 5th Battn., was wounded at Festubert in May, 1915. Another brother, Frank R. Fowler, is now temporary 2nd Lieut. 3rd Leinsters.

=FOWLING, BERTIE EVELYN=, Shipwright, 1st Class, 342885, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=FOWLOW, RICHARD=, Corpl., No. 886, D Coy., 1st Newfoundland Regt., eldest _s._ of Thomas Jenkins Fowlow, of Trinity East, Newfoundland, Owner and Master of 50-ton Fishing Schooner, by his wife, Elizabeth, dau. of John P. Fowlow; _b._ Trinity East aforesaid, 18 Jan. 1893; educ. High School there; was a Clerk in a Dry Goods Store; joined H Coy. of the Trinity East Church Lads Brigade, 4 Oct. 1912, was appointed L.-Corpl. the same year and promoted Corpl. in 1913; volunteered for foreign service after the outbreak of war, and joined the Newfoundland Expeditionary Force, Jan. 1915; left for England with the second contingent, 20 March, 1915; went to the Dardanelles, and died at Malta, 23 Nov. 1915, of typhoid contracted while on active service there; _unm._ Buried in Pieta, Malta (Row 8A, No. 6).

=FOX, HARRY=, Stoker, P.O., 301863, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=FOX, HARRY EDWIN=, Leading Telegraphist, J. 6260, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1913.

=FOX, JOHN=, Private, No. 12768, 4th (Service) Battn. South Wales Borderers, yst. _s._ of the late Arthur Fox, of Bradford, Yorks, Police Constable, by his wife, Ada S. (27, Layard Street, Splott, Cardiff), dau. of Maurice Devine, Army Pensioner; _b._ Bradford, 5 Aug. 1897; was employed as a boy at the Cardiff Cinema Theatre, which he left in May with an excellent character; enlisted Aug. 1914; served with the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force at the Dardanelles, from 4 July to 12 Aug. 1915, on which date he was killed in action there; _unm._ His brother, Private M. A. Fox, was killed in action in France (see following notice), and the only surviving brother, L.-Corpl. William Kenneth Fox, is serving with the A.S.C.

=FOX, MAURICE ARTHUR=, Private, No. 4634, 1st Battn. Royal Welsh Fusiliers, _s._ of Arthur Fox, of Bradford, Yorks, Police constable (see preceding notice), _b._ Bradford, 6 Jan. 18..; served three years with the Colours and then joined the Reserve; mobilised 5 Aug. 1914; went to France, 4 Oct. 1914, and was killed in action on the 20th of that month; _unm._

=FOX, WALTER HENRY=, Lieut., 4th Battn. South Staffordshire Regt., attd. 2nd Battn. Bedfordshire Regt., elder _s._ of George Martin Fox, of Walsall, M.D., by his wife, Emily, dau. of Henry Vaughan, J.P.; _b._ Walsall, co. Stafford, 30 Nov 1895; educ. St. Ninian’s, Moffat, and Bromsgrave School, where he was in the O.T.C., and in the Cricket XI and Football XV; gazetted 2nd Lieut. to the South Staffordshires, 15 Aug. 1914, and promoted Lieut. ... April, 1915; went to France, 29 May, and there was attached to the 2nd Bedfords, and was killed in action at Givenchy, 16 June, 1915; _unm._ His Capt. wrote: “I feel that in losing him, I lose a very good subaltern and a very good and cheery comrade.” He was an enthusiastic golfer, and won numerous prizes.

=FOX, WILFRID ARMSTRONG=, 2nd Lieut., 1/4th Battn. Lincolnshire Regt. (T.F.), 2nd _s._ of the late George Fox, of Horncastle, by his wife, Mary H., dau. of Henry Nicholson; _b._ Horncastle, co. Lincoln, 12 Oct. 1892; educ. Clevedon House, Woodhall Spa; Aldenham School, and Keble College, Oxford, where he had just finished his second year when the war broke out; joined the 4th Lincolns, 4 Aug. 1914, serving as a Private until he received his commission in Oct. to rank as from 20 Aug. 1914; went to France, 1 May, 1915, and was killed in action at Zillebeke, 29 July, 1915; _unm._ Buried in Dranoute Churchyard. Lieut.-Col. Barrell, commanding 4th Lincolns, wrote: “During the time he was with us he endeared himself to everyone of us, and he had the makings of a very good officer”; and a Horncastle soldier: “The unfortunate death of Lieut. Fox occurred in these trenches. It would have been a job to find a more capable man in the battalion. His cheery manner was just the thing that’s wanted out here, and although he was not in our company and had not been with us very long, his loss was felt acutely by the whole of the battalion, who all appreciated his readiness to help in any concert or sport that was arranged to pass the evenings while we were resting. Most of us knew him as a Private, and all agree that he was a jolly good Private and an ideal officer.”

=FOX, WILLIAM=, Stoker, P.O., 172400, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronal, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=FOX, WILLIAM ALFRED=, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 7020), S.S. 101584, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=FOXELL, FREDERICK JAMES=, Ship’s Corpl., 1st Class, 209944, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=FOXTON, JAMES=, Stoker, R.N.R., A. 3049, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914; _m._

=FOYER, WILLIAM=, Petty Officer, 176217, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914; _m._

=FRAMPTON, JOHN THOMAS=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 3007), S.S. 350, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=FRAMPTON, JOSEPH HENRY=, Leading Stoker (R.F.R, B. 4207), 292170, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=FRAMPTON, WALTER JOHN=, Sergt., No. 648, 16th Battn., 4th Brigade, Australian Imperial Force, eldest _s._ of the late Walter Frampton, of the Civil Service, by his wife, Fanny (3, Lennox Mansions, Southsea, Hants), dau. of Edward Kirk Horn, of Adelaide, South Australia, and grandson of the Rev. Canon John Frampton, of the Priory, Tetbury, Gloucestershire; _b._ Adelaide, South Australia, 20 Dec. 1867; educ. St. Edward’s School, Oxford; enlisted as Pay-Corpl. in the Australian Expeditionary Force after the outbreak of war, about 14 Oct. 1914; left with his Battn. for Egypt in Jan.; took part in the landing at the Dardanelles on 25 April; was seriously wounded at Gaba Tepe on the 27th, and died in the 17th Royal General Hospital, Alexandria, 3 May, 1915. Buried in Chatby Military Cemetery, Alexandria: _unm._ Sergt. Frampton was most highly spoken of for his bravery by his commanding officers, who said that, but for his death, he would shortly have received his commission. A tablet to his memory was placed in the chapel of St. Edward’s School, Oxford.

=FRANCIS, ARTHUR=, Private, No. 8146, 1st Battn. Dorsetshire Regt., _s._ of Job Francis, of 95, Abercynon Road, Abercynon, co. Glamorgan; _b._ Ashton Gate, Bristol, 4 Feb. 1895; educ. Board School there; enlisted 1 Sept. 1914; and died from the effects of gas poisoning at Hill 60, 4 May, 1915; _unm._

=FRANCIS, BASIL HUGH=, 2nd Lieut., 3rd Battn. The Royal Scots, _s._ of Capt. Harold Hugh Francis, late Royal Scots; _b._ Firth House, Rosslyn, 8 Oct. 1895; educ. Rugby and University College, Oxford (admitted March, 1914), and on the outbreak of war was gazetted to his father’s old regiment, 14 Aug. He was killed in action near La Bassée, 4 Feb. 1915; buried Château de Gerve, near Bethune.

=FRANCIS, GILBERT BRYAN=, Private, No. 10/2138, Wellington Infantry, New Zealand Expeditionary Force, only _s._ of the Rev. David Francis, B.A., Vicar of Llandygwydd, Cardigan, R.D., by his wife, Amy, 3rd dau. of J. M. Bryan, of Northampton, M.D., F.R.C.S.; _b._ Llandygwydd Vicarage, 17 Oct. 1886; educ. Llandovery College; went to New Zealand, 4 Dec. 1912; enlisted, 15 Feb. 1915; left New Zealand with reinforcements, 12 June, 1915, and died of enteric fever at St. George’s Military Hospital, Malta, 13 Nov. 1915. Buried in Pieta Cemetery, Malta; _unm._

=FRANCIS, HENRY WILLIAM=, Private. No. 11133, 4th Battn. 1st Brigade, Canadian Expeditionary Force, elder _s._ of Henry Francis, of Georgetown, Ontario, Canada, by his wife, Barbara Wells, dau. of William James Saunders; _b._ Poplar, London, E., 6 Feb. 1897; educ. Hermit Road Council School, London, and Georgetown, Canada; started work at the age of 13 at the Barber Paper and Coating Mills; Georgetown, Ontario; volunteered 6 Aug. 1914, two days after the declaration of war; left. Canada with the first contingent; went to France, 6 Feb. 1915, took part in the various engagements, including the repulse of the German gas attack at Langemarck, until 17 June, 1915, when he was shot through the temple by a sniper, while taking a message down the trench. His Commanding Officer wrote: “As a soldier there was none braver and none who played the game more manfully than did Henry.”

=FRANCIS, JAMES THOMAS=, Private, R.M.L.I., Ch./11729, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.

=FRANCIS, JOHN=, Capt., 1/5th Battn. Royal Warwickshire Regt. (T.F.), only child of John Horace Francis, of 7, Westbourne Road, Edgbaston, member of the firm of Deakin & Francis, Birmingham, and his wife, Ethel, yr. dau. of the late John William Botsford, of Manchester; _b._ Edgbaston, 30 June, 1887; educ. Uppingham and Gottingen, Germany; and was Director and Secretary of Deakin & Francis, Manufacturing Jewellers. He joined the 5th (Territorial) Battn. of the Warwicks on its organisation in 1907, and became Lieut., 30 Oct. 1909. On the outbreak of war he volunteered for Imperial Service; was promoted Capt., 5 Aug. 1914; went to France, 21 March, 1915, and was killed in action in France, 12 June, 1915, being shot by a sniper; _unm._ Buried in the 5th Battn. Warwicks Cemetery, White Gates, Petit Pont, Ploegsteert. The Col. of the battn. wrote: “He belonged to a fine battn. He was proud of the battn. and the battn. were proud of him,” and after remarking on the loyal spirit of the corps, pointing out that 900 of the 960 men volunteered for foreign service, continued: “It was the officers of the type of Johnny Francis, as he was known in the mess, that made the regt, what it was. Francis loved the regt., loved his company, and his men were devoted to him. Amidst 30 or 40 officers there are bound to be degrees of character, force and capacity, but in Francis I had a perfect soldier. As to character, he was the soul of honour, a disciplined officer, a true friend. He had a keen sense of justice and a sort of rough lovingkindness to his men which made them value him. As to force, he was a born commander, a leader of men. As to capabilities, he was clever, knew his job thoroughly and had a way of imparting his knowledge to his men, and he was hard-working; he was never idle. As to courage, there never was a braver man. He was not merely a brave fool who saw no danger. I think he was the kind of man who enjoyed danger. He would take a fearful punishment on the football field or in a boxing match with the utmost good temper. There was about him a joyous courage. I doubted some men’s courage, I doubted my own, but I never doubted his.” A Memorial Cross was erected in the Churchyard at Fladbury, and was dedicated by the Bishop of Worcester, June, 1916. Capt. Francis, who was the first officer to fall of the 5th and 6th Warwicks, was the great grandson of John Francis, who was the first man to be given a commission as Lieut. in the Volunteer movement of 1803. He was a well-known player for the Moseley Rugby Club.

=FRANCIS, JOHN=, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 2086), 290778, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=FRANCIS, WILLIAM SAMUEL=, Private, R.M.L.I., Ch./17236, H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.

=FRANKLIN, ALBERT EDWARD=, Private, No. 1752, 1st Battn. Australian Expeditionary Force, _s._ of George Franklin; _b._ Poplar, London, E., 25 Nov. 1892; educ. Daubeney Road School, Clapton Park; went to Australia, 18 June, 1914, and settled at Glen Innes, New South Wales; enlisted in Jan. 1915; left with the fourth reinforcements, and was killed in action at the Dardanelles, 10 Dec. 1915; _unm._ He was buried on the slope of the hill where he fell, overlooking Anzac Bay.

=FRANKLIN, ARTHUR=, Chief Stoker, 286935, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 3262), 164423, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=FRANKLIN, WILLIAM THOMAS=, Seaman, R.N.R., 4902B, H.M.S. Cressy lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=FRANKS, JABEZ=, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., Ch. B. 8075), S.S. 103825, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=FRASER, ALEXANDER=, V.D., Lieut.-Col., 1/4th Battn. Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders (T.F.), eldest _s._ of the late Alexander Fraser, Provost of Inverness, Agent of the Commercial Bank of Scotland there, by his wife, Elizabeth (Island Bank House, Inverness), dau. of the Rev. John Spray, M.A., Vicar of Kinneagh, Ireland; _b._ Beauly, co. Inverness, 6 May, 1865; educ. the Royal Academy, Inverness, Inverness College and Edinburgh University, and was admitted a Solicitor on 25 March, 1890, and made a Notary Public on 18 Oct. 1892. He practised in Inverness and became Senior Partner in the firm of Fraser & Ross of that town. He joined the ranks of the 1st Volunteer Battn. of the Cameron Highlanders, 9 May, 1883, and served with them until 10 Nov. 1887, and with the Q.R.V.B. Royal Scots from 20 Feb. 1888 to 13 Nov. 1889, and received a commission as 2nd Lieut. in the former, 17 May, 1890. He was promoted Lieut., 20 Dec. 1890; Capt., 10 Aug. 1898; Hon. Major, 5 April, 1902; Major, 25 Feb. 1905; and from 24 Feb. 1909 to 23 Aug. 1913, was Lieut.-Col. Commanding. He then retired and joined the Reserve of Officers (T.F.). On the outbreak of the European War he immediately volunteered for foreign service and rejoined, 19 Sept. 1914, on a reserve unit being formed at Inverness; and his successor in command of the 4th, being incapacitated for active service by an accident, he was re-appointed Lieut.-Col. Commanding, 29 Oct. following. He went to the Front with his Battn. in Feb. 1915, and was killed in action at Festubert, France, 18 May, 1915. On the 16th, the first day of the British attack on the German trenches south of La Bassée, the 4th Camerons were in reserve, and occupied trenches and dug-outs made by themselves, about 1,000 yards behind the British line, and on the afternoon of the 17th were ordered forward to the attack, and moved via the village of Festubert up to the trenches captured by the British the day before. The objective was a long trench, previously a communication trench, but now used as a fire trench by the enemy, with a group of houses on the enemy’s right. Two Battns. were ordered to attack, and the Camerons were allotted the houses and the portion of the trench next them; the other Battn. being on the right. Our artillery bombarded the enemy during the day and at 7.30, just as dark was coming on, the attack was launched. They had to advance over what was apparently a perfectly level piece of greasy ground, about 800 yards across, but which was found to be intersected by deep ditches full of water. The Battn. on the right suffered so severely that they had to fall back, and some of D Coy. had to retire with them, but the remainder successfully rushed the enemy’s trench. Every effort was immediately made to put it in a state of defence, but the houses had not been captured and our supports failed in the dark to find the trench where the Battn. was, and when, just at dawn, the Germans made a strong counter-attack and assailed both flanks with hand-grenades, Col. Fraser saw that it could not be held and ordered a retreat. He himself refused to leave his post of danger before the last of his men was away, and just as he was starting to go he was shot at the edge of the ditch. The Chaplain, in a letter to Mrs. Fraser, wrote: “Shortly after I joined the Battn. as Chaplain, we were ordered to take up a certain position. The date was 11 May. The Battn. waited there in reserve until last night. At four o’clock in the afternoon the order came to march out to ---- and turn due east. The front British trench was reached without any casualties, and, led by your brave husband, the gallant Camerons crossed over the backbone right into the German trench. It had been evacuated by the enemy, but a communication trench was still held by them, leading to their reserve trenches. The task allotted to our Battn. was to cut off the German retreat from this communication trench. Officers and men behaved like immortal heroes.... Lieut. ----, A Coy. told me that he saw Col. Fraser at an advanced point. He was then wounded, but was giving orders. Lieut. ... was sent with orders to another point, and when he returned he could find no further trace of the Colonel. When the Battn. had to fall back under a withering fire and the roll was called, there was still no word of the Colonel. At 11 a.m. to-day Dr. Lindsay and I went out to look for him, and though we reached to within a few hundred yards of the spot, no trace of him could be found.... In the few days that I had been with the Battn. I was led to cherish the profoundest admiration for your husband. He was a wise leader, a considerate commander, and one of the finest men that I ever had the good fortune to meet.... I was very much struck with the religious note in his life, and it is a source of inspiration to me to recall how earnestly he counselled his men to guard against all manner of excesses.... It will comfort you to know that the Brigadier-General told me that the Camerons crowned themselves with glory.” He was twice mentioned in Despatches by F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French (31 May, 1915, and 15 Oct. 1915). Col. Fraser was Factor for the Estates of Culloden and Ferintosh; a military member of the County Territorial Force Association for Inverness; a member of the Town Council of Inverness, and for some time a Magistrate; Clerk to the Deacons Court of the United Free High Church; President of the Sanitary Association of Scotland, 1912–13; convenor of Public Health Committee of Inverness, and secretary of the northern branch of the Royal Arboricultural Society. He was Right Worshipful Master of St. John’s Lodge of Freemasons, Inverness, and Provincial Grand Treasurer of Inverness-shire. He passed the School of Musketry, Hythe, 18 Oct. 1899, and had certificates for Tactics (May, 1892), Organisation and Equipment (May, 1903), and Military Topography (Nov. 1903). He had the Long Service medal, the Volunteer Decoration, and the Coronation medal (1911). Col. Fraser _m._ at the West Parish Church, Inverness, 27 April, 1893, Ella (Westwood, Inverness), only dau. of the late Col. Duncan Menzies, Blarich, Sutherland, Scotland, who for many years commanded the 1st Sutherland Highland Rifle Volunteers, and left two sons and seven daus.: Duncan Menzies, _b._ 15 April, 1894; Alexander Redmond Hugh, _b._ 25 Jan. 1908; Elizabeth Sibell, _b._ 9 June, 1896; Mary Millicent, _b._ 14 March, 1898; Muriel Jess, _b._ 26 June, 1900; Alexandra Dorothy, _b._ 1 Jan. 1903; Eleanor Beatrice Stewart, _b._ 31 Dec. 1905; Margaret Iris, _b._ 30 July, 1910; and Frances Alice Murray, _b._ 10 Nov. 1912. Col. Fraser’s elder _s._ Menzies obtained a commission in the Royal Engineers (S.R.) at the outbreak of the war and is now (1916) Lieut. in the 75th Field Company R.E. attd. to the Guards Division in France.

=FRASER, DONALD ALEXANDER=, Trooper, No. 862, 1st Light Horse, Australian Imperial Force, 2nd _s._ of the late William Fraser, by his wife, Mary (Loloma, Barry Street, Neutral Bay, Sydney, N.S.W.), dau. of John Oswald, of Melbourne, Victoria; _b._ Louth River, Darling, New South Wales, 15 Feb. 1889; educ. Scotch College, Melbourne; joined the Commonwealth Expeditionary Force, 12 Jan. 1915, left Australia with the fourth reinforcements and was killed in action at Suvla Bay, 7 Aug. 1915; _unm._

=FRASER, GEORGE JAMES=, Private, No. 2276, 4th Battn. (Royal Fusiliers) The London Regt. (T.F.), eldest _s._ of James Fraser, of 3, Reeves Place, Hoxton, N., Labourer, by his wife, Flora, dau. of William Nixon; _b._ Bethnal Green, 13 Dec. 1892; volunteered following the outbreak of war and joined the 4th London Regt., 22 Aug. 1914; went to France, 5 Jan. 1915, and was killed in action at Hill 60, 27 April, 1915; _unm._

=FRASER, THE HON. HUGH JOSEPH=, M.V.O., Major, 2nd Battn. Scots Guards, 2nd _s._ of the late Simon, 15th Lord Lovat, by his wife, Alice Mary (Beaufort Castle, Beauly), dau. of Thomas Weld Blundell, of Ince Blundell; _b._ Beauly, co. Inverness, 6 July, 1874; educ. Fort Augustus Abbey School. Inverness-shire; gazetted 2nd Lieut. from the Militia to the Scots Guards, 12 Dec. 1894, promoted Lieut. 15 Nov. 1897, Capt. 16 March, 1901, and Major 12 June, 1907, and served in the South African War, 1900–2; took part in the operations in the Orange Free State, May to 29 Nov. 1900, including actions at Biddulphsberg and Wittenbergen (1–29 July), also in those there and in the Transvaal, 30 Nov. 1901 to 31 May, 1902, and was mentioned in Despatches [London Gazette, 10 Sept. 1901], and received the Queen’s medal with three clasps and the King’s medal with two clasps; was Adjutant in Lovat’s Scouts (Imperial Yeomanry) from 1 April, 1903 to 31 July, 1907, and Aide-de-Camp to the Viceroy of India from Nov. 1910 to April, 1913. On the outbreak of war with Germany he went to the Front with the 2nd Battn. Scots Guards, which formed part of the 7th Division, and was killed in action in the 1st Battle of Ypres, 27 Oct. 1914; _unm._ He was made a M.V.O. (4th Class) 1912.

=FRASER, JAMES HOWIE=, Lieut., 2nd Battn. Gordon Highlanders, only _s._ of Edward Cleather Fraser, C.M.G., Member of the Council of Government, Mauritius, and a Partner in the firm of Ireland, Fraser & Co., of Port Louis, by his wife, Mary Josephine, dau. of the late Thomas Howie, and gdson. of the late James Fraser, of Newfield, Blackheath Park; _b._ Blackheath, London, 4 April, 1888; educ. Summerfields, near Oxford, Rugby and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, out of which he passed first in Summer Term 1907, with prizes for Tactics and Military Engineering; gazetted 2nd Lieut. to the Gordon Highlanders, 9 Oct. 1907, and promoted Lieut. 20 March, 1909; joined the 2nd Battn. in India, and served with it there and in Egypt, and with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders, and was killed in action 30 Oct. 1914, in the attack on Zillebeke Farm House. He was _unm._ and was buried at Klein Zillebeke. Lieut. Fraser was mentioned in F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French’s Despatch of 14 Jan. [London Gazette, 17 Feb.] 1915, for gallant and distinguished service in the field.

=FRASER, JAMES O’NEILL=, Private, No. 1341, 5th Battn. Australian Imperial Force, eldest _s._ of Evan Fraser, of 4, Caledonian Place, Newton, Cambuslang, Lanarkshire, Railway Signalman, by his wife, Sarah, dau. of John O’Neill; _b._ Beith, co. Ayr, 6 June, 1894; educ. Hallside School, Cambuslang, and after being for some time a clerk with the Caledonian Railway Co., emigrated to Australia in April, 1914, to take up farming. On the outbreak of war he enlisted in the Australian Expeditionary Force; left for Egypt, 1 Feb. 1915; took part in the landing at the Dardanelles, 25–26 April, 1915, and was killed on the latter day; _unm._

=FRASER, LACHLAN HENRY VEITCH=, Lieut., 4th Battn. The Middlesex Regt., yst. _s._ of Major Francis Fraser, of Tornaveen, co. Aberdeen, by his wife, Alexia Mary Beatrice de Dombal, dau. of Capt. John Henderson MacDonald, of Caskieben, co. Aberdeen, 78th Highlanders; _b._ Tornaveen, 22 April, 1894; educ. Malvern and Sandhurst; gazetted to the 4th Battn. Middlesex Regt. 8 Aug. 1914, and promoted Lieut. 15 Nov. following; went to France, Sept. and was killed in action in the trenches at Ypres, 24 Feb. 1915; _unm._ Buried at Goderzom Farm, Vierstraat. He was mentioned in F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French’s Despatch of 14 Jan. [London Gazette, 17 Feb.] 1915, for gallant and distinguished service in the field.

=FRASER, ROBERT=, Private, No. 8313, 2nd Battn. Highland L.I., only _s._ of Robert Fraser, of Glasgow, by his wife, Mary; _b._ Glasgow, 1881; educ. Dobbies Loan School there; enlisted in the 3rd Battn. Highland L.I.; served through the South African war and retired in 1905 with the rank of Corpl.; re-enlisted in the 2nd Battn. on the outbreak of the European War; went to France in Nov. 1914; was wounded at Neuve Chapelle and again at Hill 60, and was killed in action at Givenchy, 25 Sept. 1915. After the fighting that day he was officially reported “Missing,” but on 29 Nov. a letter was received by a wounded comrade who stated that he saw him buried that night. He _m._ at Glasgow, 25 May, 1906, Mary (130, Taylor Street, Townhead, Glasgow), dau. of James McLaughlan, of Glasgow, and had four children: Robert, _b._ 22 Dec. 1908; James, _b._ 6 Oct. 1913; Mary, _b._ 23 March, 1907; and Janet, _b._ 13 Jan. 1912.

=FRASER, WILLIAM ST. JOHN=, Lieut.-Commander, Royal Navy, 4th _s._ of Sir Thomas Richard Fraser, of Drumsheugh Gardens, Edinburgh, and Druimbeg, Acharacle, co. Argyle; M.D., F.R.S., LL.D., Professor of Materia Medica and of Clinical Medicine in the University of Edinburgh; Hon. Physician to the King in Scotland, by his wife, Susanna Margaret, dau. of the Rev. Robert Duncan; _b._ Edinburgh, 18 Sept. 1883; educ. Edinburgh Academy and Stubbington House, Fareham; entered the Navy, Britannia, 1898; became a midshipman, 1899; and was promoted Sub-Lieut., 1902, Lieut. 1904 and Lieut.-Commander, 1912; served in China, 1899–1902, on board the Endymion (medal), and in the European War, 1914–15, and was killed while on active service in the North Sea, near Heligoland, Jan. 1915, in command of Submarine E 10, which was destroyed with all hands. Admiral Sir George Warrender wrote: “I knew him well, for he was with me in the Shannon and I admired and respected him as one of the finest of our young officers.” He _m._ at Colinton, Midlothian, 9 April, 1908, Kathleen Lilias (Colinton, Midlothian), dau. of Capt. Abel Chapman, 19th Hussars, and had two daus.: Mary Kathleen, _b._ 16 Aug. 1911; and Rachel Margaret, _b._ 22 Jan. 1913.

=FREDERICK, HENRY=, Stoker (Native), H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=FREDERICK, JOHN EDWARD=, Gunner (R.F.R., I.C. 43), H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=FREDERICKS, WILLIAM=, A.B., 198858, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=FREEBOROUGH, CHARLES HENRY=, Leading Seaman, 228949, H.M.S Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=FREEMAN, CHARLES WILLIAM CHRISTOPHER=, Stoker, 1st Class, K. 15937, H.M.S. Pathfinder; lost when that ship was sunk by a mine, about 20 miles off the East Coast, 5 Sept. 1914.

=FREEMAN, GEOFFREY WILLIAM=, Private, No. 1201, 5th Battn. (London Rifle Brigade) The London Regt. (T.F.), eldest _s._ of William Edward Freeman, of 77, North Side, Clapham Common, S.W., L.D.S., R.C.S. Eng., Dental Surgeon, by his wife, Maud, dau. of the late John Hopkins, of Sydney, N.S.W.; _b._ Narrabri, New South Wales, 11 Sept. 1896; came to England with his parents, 1903; educ. Manor House School, Clapham Common; and when war broke out was studying to enter Guy’s Hospital. He immediately volunteered and joined the London Rifle Brigade, 4 Nov. 1914, and, after training at Crowboro’ and Haywards Heath, went to France, 12 March, 1915. He wrote home regularly and cheerfully, his last letter being dated 8 May when the battn. was resting from a long spell in the trenches. A day or two later they were rushed up to take part in the Second Battle of Ypres, and he was one of the gallant band of nine who were with Sergt. D. W. Belcher when he won his V.C. on 13 May. Sergt. Belcher, with his handful of men, elected to remain and endeavour to hold a portion of an advanced breastwork south of the Wieltje-St. Julien Road, which was under heavy bombardment from the enemy’s artillery, after the troops near him had been withdrawn, and there is little doubt that the bold front shown by Sergt. Belcher and the few men with him prevented the enemy from breaking through and making a flank attack on one of the divisions. They held on during the whole day, and at nightfall reinforcements came up and the position was saved. Unfortunately, however, Freeman was killed during the course of the day. He had volunteered to take a message under heavy fire to Capt. Somers Smith of the L.R.B.; the message was taken and delivered, but almost immediately a shell burst and he and all around him were killed. He was named in Battn. Orders, and 2nd Lieut. A. G. Sharp wrote; “He was always popular wherever he went, and everyone who came in contact with him, liked him. During the whole time I knew him I never met one person who had anything but good to say of him. In his last term at Manor House he won the Gold Medal, and everyone who was with him during his short but glorious career in the Army says that they have lost in him a great pal. During his whole life he upheld the traditions of his school, which was very dear to him, and he died as every Manorian would wish to die. Truly when one thinks of him one is convinced that Manor House makes no idle boast when she says that all her sons are ‘Sportsmen and true gentlemen.’”

=FREEMAN, JAMES=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 3402), 217667, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=FREER, ALEXANDER=, Private, No. 7890, 1st Battn. Highland L.I., 6th _s._ of George Freer, of 18, Cameron Street, off New City Road, Glasgow, by his wife, Barbara Park, dau. of William Ferris, of Dundee, Carpenter; _b._ Glasgow, 31 June, 1894; educ. Oakbank School there; was an apprentice shipwright with Messrs. Berdmore & Dalmuir; enlisted 30 Jan. 1914; went to France, 4 Jan. 1915, and was killed in action at Neuve Chapelle, 12 March, 1915. His yst. brother, Robert, died on active service (see his notice), and of his other brothers, James and John are both on active service, the former with the Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders and the latter at Salonika.

=FREER, LEACROFT HOWARD=, Sapper, No. 5089, 1st Coy. (6th North Vancouver Engineers), Canadian Engineers, 2nd _s._ of the late Howard Freer, of Bidford Grange, Warwickshire, by his wife, Gertrude Louisa (Port Hammond, P.O., British Columbia, Canada), dau. of Peter Davis, of Bickmarsh Hall, co. Warwick; _b._ Bidford Grange, co. Warwick, 26 Aug. 1884; educ. Bedford Grammar School; went to Canada in 1903, farming, afterwards taking up carpentering; volunteered on the outbreak of war and joined the North Vancouver Engineers, 11 Aug. 1914; came over with the first contingent; went to the Front in Feb. 1915, and was killed in action at Givenchy, 15 June, 1915, by shell-fire; _unm._ A comrade wrote: “On the evening of 15 June, the Canadians were making an attack, a party of engineers, including your son and myself, were waiting with some infantry in a communication trench immediately behind our front line for the word to go forward. Before the word came a large German shell exploded quite close to us, killing seven of our men, your son being one. He was killed instantly, as he was nearest to the explosion. Your son was thought much of by both officers and men. He was always so willing to help others. His services to the company will be greatly missed. He was so capable, being able to turn his hand to such a variety of works”; and another: “He was the ideal type of an Englishman, I always thought, and I know that everyone who had anything to do with him liked and admired him.”

=FREER, ROBERT=, Private, No. 3351, 3/5th Battn. Highland L.I. (T.F.), 7th and yst. _s._ of George Freer, of 18, Cameron Street, off New City Road, Glasgow, by his wife, Barbara Park, dau. of William Ferris, of Dundee, Carpenter; _b._ Glasgow, 28 Oct. 1897; educ. Oakbank School there; was an apprentice with a boat builder; enlisted 7 April, 1915, a month after his brother Alexander was killed at Neuve Chapelle, and died in the Military Hospital at Ripon, 26 Dec. 1915, of pneumonia contracted while training; _unm._

=FREIGHT, STANLEY GEORGE=, Corpl., No. 123, 1/4th Royal West Surrey Regt. (T.F.), 2nd _s._ of Edward James Freight, of 40, Windmill Road, Croydon, Builder, by his wife, Jessie, dau. of Samuel Cross, of Frome, Somerset, Farmer; _b._ Brixton, 1884; educ. Croydon; was a Builder and Decorator in partnership with his father; joined the 4th Surrey Territorials in 1908; volunteered for foreign service on the outbreak of war in Aug. 1914; went to India with his regt. 29 Oct. 1914, and died on active service at Lucknow, 1 May, 1915, of enteric fever; _unm._

=FRENCH, ALFRED=, Private, R.M.L.I., Po./11057, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chile, 1 Nov. 1914.

=FRENCH, ARTHUR ROBERT=, Boy, 1st Class, J. 26373 (Ports.), H.M.S. Hawke; lost when that ship was torpedoed in the North Sea, 15 Oct. 1914.

=FRENCH, FREDERICK=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 2469), 196044, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=FRENCH, HERBERT=, Private, No. 7145, 1st Battn. (33rd Regt.) 1st Brigade, Canadian Expeditionary Force, _s._ of John French; _b._ Kimer, co. Sussex; enlisted as a Driver (No. 40744) in the R.F.A. about 1894, and was 18 years with the Colours; served in the Sudan (medal), 1897–98, and in the South African War (medal with two clasps), 1899–1902; went to Canada about 1912 and settled at Vingham, Ontario; volunteered on the outbreak of war and joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force, 16 Aug. 1914; came over with the first contingent Oct., and died on service in Bulford Manor Hospital, 24 Dec. 1914, following an operation. He _m._ at Brighton, Sussex, 22 April, 1894, Jane (Broughdale Avenue, London, Ontario), dau. of Harry Hayles, and had six children: Hezekiah George, _b._ 7 June, 1878, _m._ with three children; Harry, _b._ 8 April, 1883; Herbert John, _b._ 21 June, 1900, now (1916) on active service in France; George, _b._ 9 Aug. 1910; Daisy, _b._ 9 Dec. 1897; and Maude Gladys, _b._ 4 March, 1903.

=FRENCH, JOHN EDWARD=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 10100), 202476, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=FRENCH, JOSEPH ROBERT=, Private, R.M.L.I., Ch./16365, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.