Francis George Townend, Lance Corporal 15/910 15th Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment, later 2nd Lieutenant 17th Battalion, then Army Ordnance Department
Francis George was born 16th April 1889 at South Kirby, Yorkshire and was baptised at All Saints Church, South Kirby on 21st May that year. His parents were Charles Frederick Townend (1856-1890), a Farmer, and Eleanor Amelia Howgate (1857-1897). His siblings were Mary Howgate (1883-1957), Jane Winifred (1884-) and Charles Frederick (1887-1948). His father died in 1890 and in 1891 his widowed mother, also a Farmer, aged 33, and the children were living at The Old Rectory, South Kirby. His mother died in 1897. In 1911, having lost both parents, Francis, who was employed as an Auctioneer, was living as a visitor with his newly married sister Mary and her husband Harry Peace at Ranmoor, 4 Ancaster Road, Far Headingley, Leeds.
Francis enlisted in the Leeds City Battalion as 15/910 Private ‘Frank’ Townend on 13th September 1914 at the age of 25. He was 5’ 9½” tall with a dark complexion, brown eyes and dark brown hair. He gave his sister Mary as his next of kin.
The name Frank is of German origin and means “free” and is a diminutive of Francis and Franklin. It can also mean someone originally from France. When he applied for a commission he reverted to Francis. He was educated at Forest School, Snaresbrook and served for three years in the Cadet Corps at Walthamstow, Essex. Before the war he also served with the 5th Battalion, East Yorkshire Territorial Regiment at Scarborough for four years. Before the war he had served for three years in the Cadet Corps at Walthamstow, Essex and for four years. A document on his officer file states that he resigned ‘to proceed to Ceylon’. It seems he went to Ceylon to get a job in the tea trade although was not successful and returned to England and became a Commercial Traveller, which was his trade for most of his working life. Due to his previous military experience Francis was promoted to Lance Corporal two days after enlistment and was soon identified as a potential officer and commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 17th Battalion (The Bantams) on 24th December 1914. This battalion was set up for volunteers who were below the required height of 5ft 3ins for regular recruits, though this restriction did not apply to officers. In fact the photo taken in camp shows him noticeably taller than the other men, even allowing for the slope of the ground.
However, his time with the Bantams was short lived as he was injured as a result of a fall while at a training camp at Ilkley on 16th April 1915. He suffered an impacted fracture of the head of the left humorous (at the time it was reported that the injury was sustained during a hockey match although another report, two years later, stated that it happened during ‘manoeuvres’).
He also suffered fits (probably epileptic) following pneumonia due to exposure. Francis underwent an x-ray and treatment at Beckett Park Hospital, and later attended a medical board at No.2 Northern General Hospital, Leeds, , which was the wartime name for the Beckett Park Hospital. As a result of his injury and sickness he was put on the posted strength of 14th Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment. He transferred to the Army Ordnance Department (AOD) and was posted to the Royal Army Clothing Department on 3rd July 1915 but was gazetted out of the Army on 21st August 1917, on account of his ill-health and permanently damaged shoulder. A medical board reported that he was permanently unfit for general and home service. He applied for war medals in 1936 although they were not awarded as ‘he did not serve overseas’. He did receive a Silver War Badge and war pension and was granted the honorary rank of Second Lieutenant.
Francis married Alice Irene Pickering (1892-1981) at Kensington in London in 1915. In 1921 they were living at 2 Woodsley Terrace, Leeds and he was listed as a Commercial Traveller working at 4 Park Place, Leeds. In 1939 he was living with his wife Alice and mother in law Alice Elisa Pickering at 48 Headingley Mount, Leeds. Also resident was their son Michael Charles Townend who was born on 14th June 1924, married Dorothy Jeanne Clark in 1955 and died in 2011. During the Second World War Francis was employed as a Textile Manufacturers’ Agent and also as a Special Constable in the police.
Francis died in Leeds in 1974 aged 85 and Alice in 1981 at the age of 89.
Sources:
The National Archive – Officer and Other Rank Service Records
Ancestry – Domestic Records and 1939 Register. Medal Rolls and SWB
Findmypast – 1921 Census
London Gazette – Appointments
Neil Townend (Grandson) – Photographs
Researcher: David J Owen, with background information from Neil Townend
Please Note:
- All opinions and inferences are the researcher’s own.
- Please refer to our Glossary of Terms for further information on the terms and phrases used in this post