First World War casualty Frank Dent (General)

by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Wednesday, April 02, 2014, 23:42 (3887 days ago) @ Mike Pinchin

Hi Christopher,
to refresh your memory, I think it is the Laura Morse scrapbook to which you refer.
https://www.forestofdeanhistory.org.uk/publications-for-sale/reprints/product/the-great...

You probably know that Frank is commemorated on the Cinderford War Memorial;
http://www.forest-of-dean.net/gallery/cinderford/pages/page_44.html

This site contains all the names including Frank's, sorry I don't yet have photos of the Memorial's actual plaques.
http://www.memorialtranscripts.co.uk/Compressed/gloucestershire_ww1.html

As MPG has said, TNA hold the Battalion's War Diary, available to view in person if you are near London, but I would strongly recommend downloading it to your computer. I may be mistaken, but the impression I get (after clicking the "preview record" tab) is that for just £3 you should receive 262 pdf images, ie every single page of the Diary !
see http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/details/C7353054?uri=C7353054

I've used this service for other documents with great success.
Other Glosters Battalion diaries are also available, search from
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/war-diaries-ww1.htm

Unusually the Long Long Trail site carries very little info indeed about the 8th Btn in France, namely

"8th (Service) Battalion
Formed at Bristol in September 1914 as part of K2 and came under command of 57th Brigade in 19th (Western) Division.
Moved to Perham Down and in March 1915 to Tidworth.
Landed in France 18 July 1915."http://www.1914-1918.net/glos.htm

Thankfully much more is here

"8th (Service) Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment was raised at Bristol in September 1914 as part of Kitchner's Second New Army and joined 57th Brigade in 19th (Western) Division. They trained at Perham Down and in March 1915 moved to Tidworth for final training. They proceeded to France on the 18th of July 1915, the division concentrating near St Omer. Their first action was at Pietre, in a diversionary action supporting the Battle of Loos. In 1916 They were in action during the Battle of the Somme, capturing La Boisselle and being involved in The attacks on High Wood, The Battles of Pozieres Ridge, the Ancre Heights and the Ancre. In 1917 they were in action in The Battle of Messines and the Third Battles of Ypres. In 1918 They fought on The Somme during The Battle of St Quentin and The Battle of Bapaume and in the Battles of the Lys at Messines, Bailleul and The First Battle of Kemmel Ridge. They fought in The Battle of the Aisne and during the Final Advance in Picardly they were in action in The Battle of the Selle, The Battle of the Sambre and the passage of the Grand Honelle. At the Armistice were were in billets near Bavay. Demobilisation began in December 1918 and the final cadres returned to England on the 27th of June 1919." http://www.wartimememoriesproject.com/greatwar/allied/gloucestershirergt8-gw.php

Judging from Frank dying from wounds on 24th July 1917, it seems he was wounded in the Ypres sector, either during the Battle of Messines(7–14 June 1917), or perhaps the buildup to the subsequent Third Battle of Ypres(31 July–10 November), more commonly known as "Passchendaele".

At this time Frank and the 8th Btn were part of 19th Division, 57th Brigade.
http://www.1914-1918.net/19div.htm

This graphic account of the Battle of Messines has references to 19th Division and their part in the attack, I think it most likely this was when Frank was badly wounded.
http://ww1cemeteries.com/ww1cemeteries/battle_of_messines.htm
http://www.cwgc.org/ypres/content.asp?menuid=36&submenuid=37&id=37&menuname...
Also http://www.ordersofbattle.darkscape.net/site/warpath/battles_ff/1917.htm

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I see from the CWGC site the Boulogne Eastern Cemetery is huge, with nearly 5800 graves, mostly from WW1. This doesn't help when trying to understand what particular action a soldier was killed in - sometimes if it's a smaller cemetery one can get a good idea if it was a specific Unit action, say, by sorting the casualties by date / Regiments; in this case it seems rather random around the 24th July.
http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead.aspx?cpage=288&sort=dateofdeath&order=asc

I think this "randomness" is because Boulogne was not a scene of battle, as a major port well behind the lines it was the main area for British hospitals tending serious casualties from across the whole Western Front, some prior to returning to Britain by ship. I wonder if Frank died while enroute back home, hence a few weeks after the Messines attack ?.
http://ww1cemeteries.com/ww1frenchcemeteries/boulogneeast.htm

Studying the CWGC data for this Cemetery shows 48 Gloster Regt graves across the whole War, with a few who died in mid June 1917, from the 8th Btn so I suspect at Messines too. Also a slightly later one from the 13th (FoD) Btn, one of the miners perhaps ?. I've visited the Messine area, the huge craters left by the mines are incredible and so very sad, search this forum for "Messines" will give a few related posts. Also see http://www.ww1battlefields.co.uk/flanders/messines.html

Finally, here's a photo of Frank's grave at Boulogne, you may wish to add some more background to this website page.
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=56254787&PIpi=74530161

R.I.P Pte Frank Dent.