Annotations

Name:

SMITH, FRANK

Initials:

F

Nationality:

United Kingdom

Rank:

Private

Frank Smith was a private. This is the basic rank of soldier in the army. He must have lied about his age in order to be allowed to serve, since officially he should have been 18.

Regiment:

The Buffs (East Kent Regiment)

This is Frank’s regiment which was based in Canterbury, a long way from his home in Southsea.

Unit Text:

1st Bn.

Age:

17

Date of Death:

14/08/1915

The date that Frank died. From this, and the location it’s possible to work out in which action he was wounded. In this case it would probably have been the action at Hooge on August 9th.

Service No:

L/10423

This is his regimental number.

Additional information:

Son of George William and Laura Emily Fordham, of 30, Esslemont Rd., Southsea, Hants. Born Portsmouth.

The fact that his parents are listed as next of kin confirms he wasn’t married.

Casualty Type:

Commonwealth War Dead

Grave/Memorial Reference:

III. D. 29A.

The exact position of his grave in the cemetery.

Cemetery:

LIJSSENTHOEK MILITARY CEMETERY

This is the cemetery where he was buried.

Cemetery:

LIJSSENTHOEK MILITARY CEMETERY

Country:

Belgium

Locality:

Poperinge, West-Vlaanderen

Visiting Information:

Wheelchair access to site possible - may be by an alternative entrance. For further information regarding wheelchair access, please contact our Enquiries Section on telephone number: 01628 507200

Location Information:

Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery is located 12 kilometres west of Ieper town centre, on the Boescheepseweg, a road leading from the N308 connecting Ieper to Poperinge. From Ieper town centre the Poperingseweg (N308) is reached via Elverdingsestraat, then over two small roundabouts in the J. Capronstraat. The Poperingseweg is a continuation of the J. Capronstraat and begins after a prominent railway level crossing. On reaching Poperinge, the N308 joins the left hand turning onto the R33, Poperinge ring road. The R33 ring continues to the left hand junction with the N38 Frans- Vlaanderenweg. 800 metres along the N38 lies the left hand turning onto Lenestraat. The next immediate right hand turning leads onto Boescheepseweg. The cemetery itself is located 2 kilometres along Boescheepseweg on the right hand side of the road.

Historical Information:

During the First World War, the village of Lijssenthoek was situated on the main communication line between the Allied military bases in the rear and the Ypres battlefields. Close to the Front, but out of the extreme range of most German field artillery, it became a natural place to establish casualty clearing stations. The cemetery was first used by the French 15th Hopital D'Evacuation and in June 1915, it began to be used by casualty clearing stations of the Commonwealth forces. From April to August 1918, the casualty clearing stations fell back before the German advance and field ambulances (including a French ambulance) took their places. The cemetery contains 9,901 Commonwealth burials of the First World War, a few of which were brought in from the battlefields after the Armistice, and 883 war graves of other nationalities, mostly French and German. It is the second largest Commonwealth cemetery in Belgium. The cemetery was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield.

Lijssenthoek was used as a casualty clearing station. This means that Frank was not killed outright, but died from his wounds while waiting to be sent to a hospital, or back home to England. Field ambulances units used some cemeteries, which means these were close to the battlefield, so soldiers here, again, weren’t killed outright, but died before they could be moved to a casualty clearing station. Soldiers listed on memorials had ‘no known grave’ which means that their bodies were too damaged and could not be recovered.

Number of Identified Casualties:

10750