Service Number: 4628 Rank: 2nd Lietuenant Enlistment Unit: 12th Battalion Transferred Unit: 3rd Machine Gun Company Date of Enlistment: 1 September 1915 Enlistment Age: 24 years 11 months Fate of person: Killed in action

Biographical Details

Francis was a locomotive fireman when he enlisted in the 12th Battalion. At over six feet he was above the average height but this was his second attempt to enlist - he had been previously rejected for ‘defective teeth’. By 1915 the Army was less selective. He arrived on the Front in April 1916 transferring to the 3rd Battalion machine gun company before being selected for officer training in August 1917. He served in various anti-aircraft and machine gun companies but was killed in action at Hazebrouck on 25 April 1918 aged twenty seven.

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