Name
Francis Ralph Tarrier
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
09/04/1917
19
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Private
23269
Bedfordshire Regiment
2nd Bn.
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
British War and Victory medals
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
ARRAS MEMORIAL
Bay 5.
France
Headstone Inscription
Not Researched
UK & Other Memorials
Hitchin Town Memorial, St Mary's Church Roll of Honour (Book), Hitchin, Addenda to the Prirton Village Memorial, Pirton School Memorial
Biography
This name appears on the School War Memorial, which confirms that Francis was a pupil and that he gave his life, so there is a strong Pirton connection. An initial investigation of the Pirton parish and census records did not provide any further information, but fortunately the Hitchin census did. That information, and a subsequent revisit to the Pirton records, revealed a family headed by William Tarrier and his wife Emma (née Jarvis). They were born in Holwell and Pirton respectively. In 1911 they were living at 4 Diamond Jubilee Terrace, Highbury Road, Hitchin and then later at 40 Highbury Road, Hitchin. Their children were Ida (b c1877), Walter William (b c1879), Frederick Edward (b c1885), Archie (b 1892), Francis Ralph (b c1898) and Winnie (b c1904). All the children were born in Pirton except Ida and Walter who were born in Ickleford and Winnie who was born in Hitchin. In 1891 the family were living near Little Green and William was working as a carpenter. All the sons served; Walter, Frederick and Archibald survived the war, but Francis was killed.
His death was simply recorded in the Hitchin Express of June 2nd 1917 as ’Died of Wounds’ - ‘Private F. R. Tarrier, Hitchin, Beds Regiment’ and then more fully in the June 19th edition and this report provides the photograph appearing here. It also gives his parents’ address as 40 Highbury Road, Hitchin and that he had been apprenticed to Mr J Cain, a coach-builder of Queen Street. Bertie Dawson, another Pirton man who survived, was also apprenticed there, so they would have known each other.
Commonwealth War Grave Commission’s records show that Francis had enlisted in Ampthill on November 15th 1915, that he served as Private 23269 in the 2nd Battalion of the Bedfordshire Regiment and that he died on April 9th 1917. He was just nineteen.
The Battalion’s war diary, for the date of his death April 9th 1917, records that at 1:30am they were near St-Martin-sur-Cojeul in France and that they were to launch an attack on that village. “D” Company attacked, with “C” Company pushing forward on their flanks. They were successful, and lucky, with only one officer and two other ranks wounded. They then withdrew, having captured several Germans, and rested until 2:00pm, when they were used as the support for the general attack that their Brigade had started at about 5:30am. The enemy fought back with a ‘fairly strong barrage in Henin’ and the British attack was held up by wire and machine gun fire, which forced them to dig in.
The action between the April 8th and the 12th resulted in 8 officers becoming wounded or sick and in the other ranks, 13 were killed, 4 died of wounds, 2 were listed as missing, 68 were wounded and 2 suffered shell shock - a total of 89. This action was part of the Arras offensive of April to May 1917. Francis was almost certainly killed by shell or machine gun fire. It was reported that he died of his wounds, which means that he did not die instantly and usually means that the body would be buried. Perhaps Francis was seen to be wounded, but had to be left behind in the attack or perhaps he was recovered back to the British lines and his body was lost or destroyed in later action. In either case his body was another not recovered or if it was, then not identified. His name is commemorated on the magnificent memorial at Arras.
This memorial is located off the Boulevard du General de Gaulle in the western part of Arras and, as well as containing a cemetery and the Arras Flying Services Memorial, it commemorates 34,750 service men from the United Kingdom, South Africa and New Zealand with no known grave. Francis Ralph Tarrier’s name can be found in Bay 5, and he is also listed on the Hitchin Town Memorial.
Additional Information
Text from the book: The Pride of Pirton
Acknowledgments
The Pride of Pirton book – www.pirton.org.uk/prideofpirton Chris Ryan / Tony French / Jonty Wild
