Frank Freeman

FRANK FREEMAN

                   The Hemel Hempstead Gazette carried an article on the 16th April 1921, on the unveiling of the Leverstock Green memorial.                           The article gave the full name of each soldier recorded on the memorial.

This is the record of Frank Freeman as named in the Gazette and as

F Freeman on the memorial. 

As Frank Freeman was not recorded on the village school memorial, the Hemel Hempstead town memorial or by the vicar on his church service pamphlet for Easter 1919, just who was Frank would start as a mystery, thankfully luck was on the side of discovery, as Frank Freeman’s service records, whose family lived in Westwick Row, are to be found at the National archives, at Kew.

Frank baptism came late in his life, taking place on 8th June 1888 in Watford, aged 8 years old, the family lived in an area known as Highwood, although in the parish of Bushey, it was next to Watford town and a long way from Bushey parish church. Frank was aged about 13 years old when the Freeman family moved from Highwood in Bushey, to Leverstock Green, around 1893, having been born in Eaton Bray, Bedfordshire in July 1880, the third child to parents Sarah and William, 

By 1901 aged 20, Frank was a lodger at 49 Lower Paddock Road Bushey, home to Mr George Thorpe and his wife Isabella. Frank along with Mr Thorpe were employed as gas factory labourers and Frank's brother Herbert also a gas worker lived next door. Under a mile away from Frank's home in Lower High Street, Watford was the Watford Gas and Coke company, a major gas manufacture where I would think the lads worked. 

The next road to Lower Paddock Road was Villiers Road, home to George De Beger, Frank his brother Herbert and George did not know that one day all three would be brought together years later and remembered on the Leverstock Green War memorial.

The 1911 census has Frank still living with the Thorpe's at 49 Lower Paddock Road Bushey, though now after 20 years of marriage Isabella had given birth twice in the previous two years, with two little girls added to the household, tragically three previous children had died. The Thorpe's and Frank moved in 1913 to 42 Ebury Road Watford, here Frank took up employment as a general labourer.

Frank volunteered for military service at Watford on 10th December 1915, aged 35 years and 6 months his father William, living in Westwick Row, Leverstock Green is given as his next of kin. Frank was not taken by the army straight away but placed in the army reserve and mobilised on 27th March 1916 with a posting to the 34th Labour battalion Royal Fusiliers stationed in Bedford and is in trouble for urinating his bed the very first night of army service, for this he is confined to barracks for 7 days and had to pay for the damage. Six weeks later Frank embarked for France via Southampton landing at Le Havre on 7th May 1916.

On the formation of the Labour Corp in April 1917 all regimental labour battalions were transferred to this new formation, 34th battalion Royal Fusiliers are transferred to the Labour Corps and divided in two and renamed 101st and 102nd Labour companies. Frank went with 101st company.

Having served 18 months overseas Frank received leave to go home to England on his return to France due to an unknown reason he overstayed his leave by 24 hours, now in serious trouble, on the 4th November 1917 receiving 7 days field punishment number 2 and forfeited 2 days’ pay.

Death from enemy shelling was a common occurrence as some Labour Corps companies would often work for weeks or even months at a time in the most dangerous conditions within the range of German artillery who in trying to disrupt movement would shell a particular area at random, with a tragic incident occurring on the night of 11th and 12th May 1918. 101 Company were laying cables in the Fonquevillers area when attacked by German high explosive and gas shells between the hours of 7.30 pm until 2.30 am.  As a result of this attack 3 Officers and 136 men would die over the coming weeks from gas wounds and a further 130 men received hospital treatment with gas wounds. Within a few days replacements had been sent to 101 Company and they were again working in the area.

Frank was dangerously wounded by gas in this attack and died due to these wounds on the 23rd May, at the 5th General Hospital in Rouen.

The army sent a form to Frank’s father as his next of kin, requiring the names of all Franks’ family that were living. This form would have to be witnessed by a Minister or Magistrate, in this case Arthur Durrant, vicar of Leverstock Green, not only served as the witness he also filled out the form as William could not write. Franks parents, two brothers, Frederick and William along with three sisters, two were married and Kate, living in Wales were all written down.

After Frank’s death the army paid to Isabella, who was noted as dependent on Frank, a separation allowance, the total was 28 shillings, this amount was classified as continues. Frank had also on his army Will left all his belongings to Isabella, who was also sent Franks personal property from France and his pay which had not been drawn. Isabella received Franks War and Victory medals in January 1922. These medals were named to the Royal Fusiliers with Frank's first number 31149. Franks plaque and scroll were sent to his parents in Westwick Row.

George Thorpe is on the electoral roll in 1914 as living at 42 Ebury Road but is not on the roll after this date. Isabella is on the roll as living at this address, taking lodgers up to her death in 1927.

Frank died in the old Norman town of Rouen and buried at 

St Sever cemetery extension, Rouen, France.

Grave Q. III. N. 14.

 Remembered on the Leverstock Green memorial and the Watford Memorial Register 

and Isabella had an entry placed in the National Roll of the Great War 

The French village of Fonquevillers were Frank was wounded is about one and a half miles from where Benjamin Oakley was serving in 1915 and killed.

Rules for field punishment

[The following is a transcript from the Manual of military law, printed in 1914.]

Rules for field punishment made under Section 44 of the Army Act.

1. A court-martial, or a commanding officer, may award field punishment for any offence committed on active service, and may sentence an offender for a period not exceeding, in the case of a court-martial three months, and in the case of a commanding officer twenty-eight days, to one of the following field punishments, namely:-

1. Field punishment No. 1

2. Field punishment No. 2.

2. Where an offender is sentenced to field punishment No. 1, he may, during the continuance of his sentence, unless the court-martial or the commanding officer otherwise directs, be punished as follows:-

a. He may be kept in irons, i.e., in fetters or handcuffs, or both fetters and handcuffs; and may be secured so as to prevent his escape.

b. When in irons he may be attached for a period or periods not exceeding two hours in any one day to a fixed object, but he must not be so attached during more than three out of any four consecutive days, nor during more than twenty-one days in all.

c. Straps or ropes may be used for the purpose of these rules in lieu of irons.

d. He may be subjected to the like labour, employment, and restraint, and dealt with in like manner as if he were under a sentence of imprisonment with hard labour.

3. Where an offender is sentenced to field punishment No. 2, the foregoing rule with respect to field punishment No. 1 shall apply to him, except that he shall not be liable to be attached to a fixed object as provided by paragraph (b) of Rule 2.

4. Every portion of a field punishment shall be inflicted in such a manner as is calculated not to cause injury or to leave any permanent mark on the offender; and a portion of a field punishment must be discontinued upon a report by a responsible medical officer that the continuance of that portion would be prejudicial to the offender's health.

5. Field punishment will be carried out regimentally when the unit to which the offender belongs or is attached is actually on the move, but when the unit is halted at any place where there is a provost marshal, or an assistant provost marshal, the punishment will be carried out under that officer.

6. When the unit to which the offender belongs or is attached is actually on the move, an offender awarded field punishment No. 1 shall be exempt from the operation of Rule (2) (b), but all offenders awarded field punishment shall march with their unit, carry their arms and accoutrements, perform all their military duties as well as extra fatigue duties, and be treated as defaulters.

The Labour Corps was formed in April 1917 to standardise support to the Army.  Prior to that date various ASC, Engineer and Infantry Labour Companies and Battalions existed to support their specific areas but there was no central control and this resulted in significant wastage.  From its formation the Corps grew to over 500,000 by November 1918 of which some 300,000 served in France.  They were employed on a wide variety of tasks including maintaining roads and railways under shell fire, digging reserve positions, moving ammunition and battlefield clearance.  A Standard Labour Company consisted of about 450 men under command of a Major.  It was divided into 4 sections of about 100 men and a HQ.  Personnel employed in the Labour Corps were medically of a lower grade or older than infantrymen at the front.  Generally personnel over 35 were also enlisted into the Labour Corps.  Personnel of the Corps had to be fit to undertake manual labour but generally could not march (with full kit) over 5 miles or maybe had bad eyesight etc.  A lot of personnel were wounded infantrymen recovering their strength.  Every member of the Labour Corps was medically re-examined every month to see if they were fit enough to return to the Front.  As the war progressed the medical standards kept on reducing many men found themselves in the Infantry.

LEVERSTOCK GREEN WAR MEMORIAL 1914 - 1918