BORN: 1895 in Magor, Monmouthshire, Wales.
UNIT: 1/2nd Monmouthshire Regiment.
DIED: Killed in Action, 12 Apr 1918, near Le Papot, Nieppe, France, aged 26.
BURIED: Le Papot, Nieppe, France. Commemorated on Ploegsteert Memorial. Part 8. Stone 10.K. as Pte. WILLEY, G.
LOCAL CONNECTIONS: Mount Pleasant, Magor, and Cross Cottage, Magor.
Early Life
Frank George WOOLEY (a.k.a. WOOLLEY or WILLEY or WILLY) was born in 1895 in Magor, Monmouthshire Wales. He was the son of Edward WOOLEY and his wife Charlotte (nee HARRIS). His brother Edward Henry ‘Harry’ WOOLEY is also listed on the Magor War Memorial. See his story here.
Frank’s father Edward was a Mason from Shepton Mallet, Somerset. He married Charlotte HARRIS from Undy, Monmouthshire in 1881. It seems that Charlotte already had a daughter Annie HARRIS, born in 1877. Charlotte would later call herself Charlotte Eliza and was often recorded as Eliza.
'Mount Pleasant'
In 1901, Frank (aged 7) was with his parents and 3 siblings at ‘Mount Pleasant’, Magor. His father Edward rented the house for £8 per annum. It was advertised for sale later in 1901 as exceptionally well built, having 2 living rooms, 3 bedrooms, a scullery and pantry, a bakehouse with an oven and boiler, and a large underground cistern with a pump. His half-sister Annie HARRIS was not with them. She was brought up by her maternal grandparents in Penhow.
At the time of the 1911 census Frank lived with his family in Magor. No address was recorded so we cannot tell whether they remained at Mount Pleasant. Edward counted Annie HARRIS among their children, even though was brought up by her grandparents. Meanwhile Frank’s brother Harry was already a soldier, stationed at Artillery Barracks, Pretoria, South Africa.
Frank and WW1
Following in his brother's footsteps
Thankfully, Frank’s service record is one of those that survived the Blitz in WW2 and is part of the Burnt Records collection.
Frank originally signed up for service on 01 Dec 1915 in Newport. He was assigned to the 3/2nd Battalion of the Monmouthshire Regiment, army reserve, as Private 3456 WOOLLEY. When he attended his medical on 11 Dec 1915 Frank was 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighed 133 pounds. He was 23 years old, single, and worked as a haulier. However, this was the day before his brother Harry died on active service in hospital in Alexandria, Egypt. It is hard to imagine how he and his parents felt when news of his brother’s death arrived shortly after he signed up. This might explain why his application was not approved until 01 Feb 1915.
Frank joined up on 08 Feb 1916 and by now was part of the regular army. By 06 June 1916 he was transferred to 1/2nd Battalion. His service number became 266200.
On the same day, the 1/2nd Monmouthshires sailed from Southampton for France, arriving in Rouen the following day.
1/2nd Monmouthshires
The 1/2nd Battalion, Monmouthshire Regiment had been through several organisations before Frank joined up. On 01 May 1916, a month before Frank sailed for France, the 1/2nd became the Pioneer Battalion to 29th Division. Pioneers undertook engineering tasks. They built and repaired field fortifications, military camps, roads, bridges and railways.
Battles Fought
1916
The Battle of Albert
The Battle of the Transloy Ridges.
1917
The First Battle of the Scarpe
The Second Battle of the Scarpe
The Third Battle of the Scarpe
The Battle of Langemarck
The Battle of Broodseinde
The Battle of Poelcapelle
The Battle of Cambrai.
1918
The Battle of Estaires
The Battle of Messines 1918
The Battle of Hazebrouck
The defence on Nieppe Forest
The Battle of Bailleul
Sickness, Discipline and Leave
Frank was admitted to hospital several times whilst in Flanders. Each time he was sent back to his battalion, usually within days. His casualty record details the troubled time he had. Frank suffered with Myalgia, severe muscle pain caused by overuse. This is not surprising given the work he did. However, it is also a side effect of Trench Fever. He was also infected with Scabies, caused by tiny mites that burrow into the skin.
02 Oct 1916 – sent hospital for 3 days. (No details of reason)
11 Oct 1916 – failed to comply with an order. Confined to barracks for 4 days.
25 Jan 1917 – sent to hospital, suffering with Myalgia. Transferred to the 5th General Hospital at Rouen.
09 Feb 1917 – ditto. Discharged to Base Depot on12 Feb 1917.
02 Apr 1917 – returned to battalion
11 Jul 1917 – admitted to hospital with Scabies. Re-joined his battalion 5 days later.
21 Jul 1917 – readmitted to hospital with Scabies. Re-joined his battalion 21 Aug 1917.
10 Sep 1917 – On leave. Returned to UK for 10 days before re-joining his regiment.
Death and Burial
Frank was killed in action on 12 Apr 1918 near Le Papot. This is located northeast of Armentieres, France. The detailed battalion war diaries describe Frank’s final few days. These are outlined below:
Frank's Final Days
On 01 Apr 1918 Frank was stationed in La Brique. Whilst based there, working parties sent out to replace duckboards or repair strong points such as the one at Mosselmarkt. Each day Frank would have heard about or witnessed the loss of one or two more of his comrades.
On 08 Apr 1918 the whole of the 29th Division, including Frank’s battalion, was relieved. Frank then moved to School Camp, St Jan Ter Biezen, west of Poperinge.
Then, on 10 Apr 1018, his officers received orders to move to the St Pol area, but were cancelled due to a sudden enemy advance. However, they later moved by bus to La Creche, on the Bailleul-Nieppe road. Their battalion HQ was established at the the cross roads at De Seule.
On 11 Apr 1918 they were ordered to take up positions near Papot, ‘considered of vital importance’. This was achieved without difficulty by 3:30 pm. During the night, commanders decided to withdraw and dig in along a line from Papot.
During the 12 Apr 1918, using trench mortars and machine guns, the Germans inflicted heavy losses on the Monmouthshires. Four officers were wounded and 75 other ranks killed or wounded. Then, because other regiments not in position, the Monmouthshire found their flanks exposed and the enemy attacked on both sides from the Rabot-Papot Road and Lampernisse. A group of 8 officers and 400 ranks were ‘absolutely cut off’. However, they were ordered to hold their position ‘at all costs’. A company of the Royal Scots were sent up to support but the situation became impossible. The Monmouthshires managed to rally but the strength was now just 4 officers and 150 other ranks. With the aid of the Newfoundland Regiment this line was held until midnight. But then they were ordered to withdraw to their original position along the Bailleul-Nieppe road.
The next two days saw the same process – ordered to advance, hold at all costs, then driven back to their original position
During the night of 14/15 April the battalion was relieved, along with the rest of the Brigade, and they marched the 6 miles back to Croix-de-Poperinge. Within 2 hours of their relief, the enemy attacked their previous position again and the soldiers in the area were completely cut off.
The Monmouthshires were then bussed back to Poperinge.
During the action between 10-20 April 29 men were killed, 187 were wounded, and a remarkable 256 were missing. Sadly, Frank was one of these.
His Burial
Frank’s service record includes a note that says he fell and was buried near Le Papos [Le Papot] on 01 May 1918. The information was forwarded to the British Army by the Geneva Red Cross. However, it was extracted from an official list produced by the German Army. It seems then that the ‘enemy’ had identified Frank and buried him on the battlefield, later reporting the details to the Red Cross. We do not know where near Le Papot this grave is located.
Instead, Frank is commemorated on the Ploegsteert Memorial. This commemorates more than 11,000 servicemen of the United Kingdom and South African forces who died in this sector during the First World War and have no known grave. The memorial serves the area from the line Caestre-Dranoutre-Warneton, in Belgium, to the north, to Haverskerque-Estaires-Fournes, in France, to the south, including the towns of Hazebrouck, Merville, Bailleul and Armentieres, the Forest of Nieppe, and Ploegsteert Wood.
Most of those commemorated by the memorial did not die in major offensives, such as those which took place around Ypres to the north, or Loos to the south. Most were killed during the day-to-day trench warfare which characterised this part of the line, or in small scale set engagements, usually carried out in support of the major attacks taking place elsewhere.
Medals and Pension
Frank’s back pay of £8 2s 5d was paid to his mother Eliza [Charlotte] on 06 Aug 1918. She received his War Gratuity of £9 10s on 04 Dec 1919.
Frank was awarded the British War Medal and Victory Medal. He did not qualify for the 1914-15 Star as it was only awarded to those who served in any theatre of war outside the UK between 5 August 1914 and 31 December 1915.
What happened to his family?
Parents
Harry’s mother Charlotte died in 1930. His father Edward died just before Ethel’s wedding in 1934
Siblings
Annie HARRIS (Half-sister). b. 1877 Penhow, Monmouthshire. She married Henry Richard FISHER, a labourer from High Ham, Somerset, in 1901/2 in the Newport Registration District. They moved to Low Ham, Somerset where they raised their children. Sometime between 1921 and 1939 they moved to Tiverton, Devon. Annie died there in 1956.
Thomas Samuel WOOLEY b. 1882. He emigrated to Canada in May 1907. He married Annie MADIGAN (nee MURPHY) in York, Ontario on 13 Nov 1912. Annie was a widow, originally from Dublin, Ireland. They moved from York to Sarnia, Ontario. There he worked as a Steward, Day Cook and Assistant Secretary of the YMCA. Their deaths were tragic and I have chosen not to publish the details here in case family members are unaware of them. Please contact me if you want the full story.
Fanny WOOLEY b. 1884, Undy. bt. 18 May 1884 Undy, when her parents lived on The Causeway, Undy. She married John MILES in 1903 under the name of Fanny Sarah WOOLLEY. In 1911 they lived in Five Lanes, Monmouthshire. They had 3 children and another 2 had died. In 1939, Fanny and John still lived in Five Lanes. John worked as a munition works labourer. Fanny died in 1959.
Elizabeth Lucy WOOLEY b. 14 Jul 1890, Magor. Emigrated to Canada 29 May 1912, aged 21. She married William Henry WARD in Toronto, Ontario on 28 Sep 1914. He was a Fruit Merchant and also an immigrant from Britain. She died in York, Ontario in 1946 aged 55. She had at least one daughter.
Edward Henry ‘Harry’ WOOLEY b. 1892 – see separate post.
Ethel Elsie Mary WOOLEY – b. 1898 in Magor. She married William Henry FRANKLIN from Caerwent on 31 Mar 1934 in Magor parish church. In 1939, they lived in Caerwent where William worked as a Farm Labourer. It appears they had no children. Ethel died in 1984.
Contact me if you want more detail about the sources used or any help finding your ancestors’ stories, military or otherwise.
