Name
Richard Frank Hoar
1894
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
31/07/1917
23
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Private
270757
Hertfordshire Regiment
1st/1st Bn.
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
British War and Victory medals
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
TRACK X CEMETERY
E. 30.
Belgium
Headstone Inscription
None
UK & Other Memorials
Hemel Hempstead Town Memorial,
Hertfordshire Regimental Memorial, All Saints Church, Hertford,
Not on the Apsley End memorials
Pre War
Richard Frank Hoar (known as Frank) was born in 1894 in Apsley End, nr Hemel Hempstead, Herts, the son of Richard and Louisa Hoar. He was one of eleven children, although three died at a young age.
On 8 February 1900, Frank started school at the Infant Department of Apsley Boys School. Four years later, Frank and his brother Ralph left Apsley School, presumably to move to another school as they were too young to leave school permanently.
On the 1901 Census, the family were living at 31 Weymouth Street, Apsley End, Hemel Hempstead, where his father was working as a General Labourer.
By the 1911 Census, the family had moved to 7 Frogmore Crescent, Apsley End and Frank was working as a Printer at the Paper Mill. He remained in this employment until the outbreak of war.
In 1912 Frank enlisted with the 1st Battalion, Hertfordshire Regiment which was a territorial force, and signed on for four years.
His parents later lived at 10 Edmonds Place, Marlowes, Hemel Hempstead - is currently thought that Robert has no other direct connection with this location.
Wartime Service
At the outbreak of war, the Hertfordshire Regiment was immediately mobilised for 'Home' servive and went to Romford and Bury St Edmunds to train. Those that subsequently volunteered for overseas service were sent to France in November 1914, arriving at Le Havre on 6 November, and took up positions south of Ypres.
Later in November they suffered the first casualties with ten men killed and an officer wounded. In early 1915 they were in operation near Cuinchy and fought in the Battle of Festubert in May and Battle of Loos in September.
Frank's four year term of engagement ended in 1916 but he immediately re-enlisted and fought in the final phase of the Somme offensive and survived the Battles of Thiepval, Ancre Heights and Ancre.
In July 1917 the Herts Regiment was in Belgium, in preparation for the Third Battle of Ypres at Pilckem Ridge. At about 3.50 am, the Battalion moved forward east of the river Steenbeek. Initially casualties were slight but as they moved towards their objective of the Langemarck line, they came under heavy sniper and machine gun fire. No. 3 Company attacked and captured a German strong point, killing or capturing most of the German soldiers, but the thick enemy wire was practically undamaged. They couldn't get through and had to fall back, suffering heavy casualties.
Frank was killed in action on 31 July 1917, aged 23, during the Battle of Pilckem Ridge and was one of 147 Soldiers from the Hertfordshire Regiment who died on that day. He is buried in Track X Cemetery, Belgium.
Additional Information
His mother received a pension of 5 shillings a week. Unusually, his father received two war gratuities, one of £3 and the other of £5 as well as pay owing of £3 19s 10d.
Acknowledgments
Brenda Palmer
Jonty Wild, www.hemelheroes.com.
