34864, Gunner, Frank Percy NEWMAN
Aged 21
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Born in Denham in Q3-1893 [Thingoe 4a:753] to James and Julia NEWMAN (née SMITH) of Denham End, Denham, Suffolk.
1901 census...Frank [7] was living at Denham End at his grandmother's house (widowed Susan SMITH), with his father James [38], a farm labourer born Dalham; his mother Julia [37] born Denham, and his brothers Thomas H [9] and Martin E [4] and sisters Rose E [5]; Edna G [2] and Hilda J [6 months}. All the children were born in Denham. 1911 census...Frank [17] a farm labourer, was at Landwade, Exning with his parents; brothers Harold (Thomas H) and Edward (Martin E ) who were both farm workers, and sisters Rose; Edna and Hilda with a new sister Ida [8] born in Denham. By the end of the war the family had moved to 2 Railway Crossing, Newmarket. His elder brother Thomas "Harry" was killed in 1916, in France. see here |
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He enlisted in Bury St Edmunds on April 24th 1911 into the RoyaL Garrison Artillery, giving his age as 18yrs 10 months. He was 5'9 1/2"
(176.5 cm)tall, weighed 139 lbs (63.2 kg) and chest measured 37 1/4" (94.6 cm).
He had good references from L. Westley, the farmer who employed him and said the reason for enlisting was to try and better himself He was sent to the Indian Expeditionary Force, arriving Peshawar, India ( now in the north of Pakistanon) 7-11-1912. He was at Peshawar from 29 June 1913 to 6 June 1914 (having sand fly fever between 31 July and 6th August 1913. Posted to Multan, India ( now one of the largest cities in Pakistan) on 7th May 1914. He had a bout of malaria at Multan, from 12 January to 23rd January 1915. His records do not show any of his records during WW1 other than his medal card which notes that he arrived in Middle East on 10th March 1915. He was with the Indian Expeditionary Force "D", [part of the VI Division]. Under General Townshend they were in the Siege of Kut al Amarah from 1st December 1915. The siege led to the surrender of Kut to the Turks in April 1916 and the capture of 9,000 British and Indian troops, a great many of whom died at the hands of their captors on the march to prison camps and at the camps. This fate was not Frank's as he was wounded and died early in the siege. He died of wounds received in action(compound fracture of the femur) at Kut al Amarah. During the campaign in Mesopotamia, more troops died of illness than were killed. The greater majority of troops in Irag were Indian, hence on 24th the Britsh Army had 11 die, against 65 Indian soldiers. On September 8th 1914 May D'Erisleigh of Wimbish Manor, Shepreth wrote to Army Records to ask if Gunners Frank Newman and Herbert Taylor, stationed at Multan in India, had been sent to the Expeditionary Force. In September 1915 she wrote to Army Records to say they had heard nothing from Frank. On January 19th 1916 she wrote again to Army Records saying they had seen in the papers that Frank had been wounded and yet his mother had heard nothing and asked exactly what was the position. By the 22nd she had a reply stating information had been sent to Frank's mother at 2 Railway Crossing, Newmarket. On 16th June 1916 his father wrote to Army Records asking why, after 6 months, they still had no further information. |
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