Letter from 2nd. Lt. Frank Aldridge Fawcett
1/6 South Staffs Rgt
BEF France
18.4.16
Dear Uncle Jack,
Hear that you have joined the Arty: good luck are they Field Guns or
F[...si]:? Think I told you that we were sent to Egypt but returned within a
month of landing there, was a very interesting experience; called at Malta -
spent 10 days in Alexandria, awfully nice place and some time at the Suez
Canal in the desert, expecting Turks. The weather was all against us since we
came back to France - snowed for the first month, which wasn't pleasant, now
it's quite nice - weather I mean! Have been in a bit of a "bother" during
this last month. I'm battalion Bombing Officer which is a bit of a hot job,
hence had quite an exciting 12 hours. Lost a few pals, which is rotten.
Mining has been our chief trouble, the moral effect of a mine going up in
ones trench is bad. The crater of one was 50 feet deep and about 60 yards
across - and every time things round about fairly loops-the-loop. After this
every straffing machine that opens & shuts, commences! You will say "Thank
goodness I'm not a "footslogger"! Am writing this in an old German dug-out -
very well fitted, two beds, fire place, mantelpiece, one or two pictures,
table [polished?] chair and an acetylene lamp, the whole being about 30 feet
below the earth's surface - hence we are very safe & very comfortable. Am
sending this to Grandma to post to you.
Yours &c
Frank
Title |
Letter from 2nd. Lt. Frank Aldridge Fawcett
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---|---|
Author |
Fawcett, Frank Aldridge
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Notes |
Frank Aldridge Fawcett was born in Kings Norton in 1896, the only son of Frederick and Kate Fawcett. He was killed at the Battle of Loos, aged 19.
Editor's Comment: Serjeant 14/236 Frank Aldridge Fawcett, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the 1/6th Bn. South Staffordshire Regiment (recorded as 1/5th Bn. by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission). He was killed in action 1st July 1916, and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial. Both the 1/5th and 1/6th Battalions formed part of the 46th (North Midland) Division, tasked with attacking the village of Gommecourt on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. |
Item date |
18th April 1916
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Creation place |
Loos
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Item source | |
Item medium | |
Content | |
Cataloguer |
Richard Marshall
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Filename |
GWA_4012_Letter_from_2nd._Lt._Frank_Aldridge_Fawcett.txt
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Copyright |
The Great War Archive, University of Oxford / Primary Contributor
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Digital repository | |
Contributor name |
Jill Turnbull
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Collection
Citation
“Letter from 2nd. Lt. Frank Aldridge Fawcett,” by Fawcett, Frank Aldridge. The Great War Archive, University of Oxford / Primary Contributor via First World War Poetry Digital Archive, accessed March 29, 2024, http://ww1lit.nsms.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/gwa/item/5720.
Permitted Use
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