British War Medal
We don't know anything about Frank's early life or his family. In 1914 he was living in Newton, Manchester.
The First World War broke out that August and Frank joined the 9th Battalion of the Manchester Regiment in the first half of November. We don't know his service number. The 9th Battalion was a unit of the Territorial Force. They had left their base in Ashton-under-Lyne during September and sailed to Egypt, so it is likely Frank was assigned to the 2nd line unit being formed at Ashton (the 2/9th Battalion).
This unit trained in the UK, firstly at Southport in Lancashire then at Hayward's Heath, Suffolk. They were brought up to strength and sailed to France in March 1917.
By this time Frank had been promoted twice and held the rank of Corporal. At around the same time soldiers serving in Territorial units were given new service numbers. The 9th Battalion was allocated the range 350001 to 375000. Frank was given 351186.
We don't know anything about Frank's service in France. The 2/9th Battalion spent time in the Givenchy sector before moving to Belgium and taking part in the Passchendaele Offensive of autumn 1917. They then faced the German Spring Offensive in March 1918.
At some point Frank was transferred to the East Lancashire Regiment. We don't know when this took place, but it could have been during April when the 9th Battalion (as the 2/9th had been renamed) was reduced to a small number of soldiers, known as a cadre.
We don't know which battalion of the East Lancashire Regiment Frank joined. His new service number was 235739, which suggests he originally joined the 4th Battalion, but this doesn't mean he fought with them.
Frank survived the war, but the rest of his life remains a mystery. He married and would have at least one grandchild.
His medal was donated to the Museum of the Manchester Regiment in May 2003. As well as his British War Medal, Frank was also awarded the Allied Victory Medal for his Army service.
