Name
Francis Frank Brown
9 September 1884
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
19/04/1916
33
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Private
17297
Bedfordshire Regiment
8th Bn.
"B" Coy.
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
1914 /15 Star, British War and Victory medals
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
YPRES (MENIN GATE) MEMORIAL
Panel 31 and 33
Belgium
Headstone Inscription
NA
UK & Other Memorials
Hitchin Town Memorial, St Mary's Church Roll of Honour, Hitchin, Hitchin British Boys' School Memorial, Hitchin, We are not aware of any Charlton memorial
Pre War
Born 9 September 1884, baptised in Offley 31 May 1885, to Frank and Emma Brown. Official records suggest his birthplace was Hitchin, but the censuses of 1891, 1901 and 1911 give Offley, Lilly Hoo and Hitchin respectively.
In 1891 the family were living in Sootfield Green, near Preston. The family were parents Frank (30) and Emma (32), Frank working as a agricultural labourer, their children were listed as: William (11), Sarah (9), Henry (8), Frank (7), Anna (5), Henrietta (4), Thomas (2) and Katie just 6 months old.
Some believe that he went to Hitchin Boys’ British School with admission date of 4 March 1895.
William, Sarah and Henry appear to have left home, Frank was now 16 and working as an agricultural labourer. Annie – now listed as Annie, Henrietta, Tom and Kate were all present plus Jack (10) and Fred (3).
Francis Frank married Fanny Frances (believed née Cherry) in 1904.
By 1911 Francis (25) and Fanny (26) were living at Charlton Cottages, Charlton, with Francis working as a farm labourer and they had 2 children Lilly May (b 16/1/1905) and Reuben Walter (b 23/12/1908)
Before the war he worked for Messers Pierson and Sons, coal merchants in Hitchin
One database records Francis as born Hitchin, living in Charlton, when he enlisted in Hitchin.
Wartime Service
He volunteered in September 1914 and after training arrived in France on 30 August 1915 and went toe the Western Front and fought on the Somme and in many other engagements
He was posted to the 8th Battalion of the Bedfords and was given the Regimental Number 17297. He was sent to the Western Front in August 1915 and after fighting in several engagements was killed in action on the Somme. The ‘National Roll’ shows his date of death as the 11th April 1916.
On the 11th April the 8th Battalion was in camp at Poperinghe providing work parties before moving up to the line on the 15th April to a position called ‘Duck's Bill’ near La Belle Alliance one mile from the canal in the Mortaldje Salient. A letter from a Private A.G. Slater of 51, Florence Street, Hitchin written in 1917 said that on the 19th April 1916 there was a terrible bombardment and the dugouts collapsed. Brown was dug out by the Germans and was killed at the time that Slater was captured. After the bombardment the Germans attacked at 8.00pm on the 19th April 1916 and overran what was left of the Bedfords trenches. Ninety-nine other ranks and five officers were killed at this time.
Several local papers in 1917 finally reported his death – he had been listed as missing, meaning that his poor wife had waiting for many months, presumably in the hope that henwas alive.
And according to a comrade’s letter he was hit by a shell and killed by a shell and killed almost instantaneously
He has no known grave but is remembered on the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing at Ypres in Belgium on Panels 31 to 33.
Additional Information
His widow remarried to Ernest Linfoot in the second quarter 1919. Hence his pension record names his widow as Fanny Francis Linfoot who was born 1 March 1884 and living at Cartwright Cottages, Charlton, near Hitchin. Two children were also named: Lily May (b 1905) and Reuben (b 1909). She was awarded a pension of 18s 6d a week paid from 4 December 1916. After his death £2 16s 6d was authorised to go to his widow on 2 April 1917 and later a war gratuity of £7 was authorised to be paid to her on 7 November 1918. By then she had the surname Linfoot after she had married
The National Roll of Honour records his address as 7 Parcels Place, Hitchin.
His widow died as Frany F Linfoot at 80 in 1966.
Francis was the cousin of Frederick Brown who was killed in action on the 9th March 1918.
Acknowledgments
Jonty Wild, Derry Warners
Adrian Dunne, David C Baines, Jonty Wild
