This site commemorates the men and women of Collingham, Linton and Micklethwaite who served during World War 1.
Frost, Albert Edward
(1893-1915)
 

Rank and Unit at End of World War One

Rank Private

Service Number 11790

Service Army

Battalion 9th Battalion

Regiment West Yorkshire Regiment

Killed in Action: 9th August 1915

Commemorated at: Helles Memorial, Turkey

Pre-war Occupation*/marital status**

Trade or Occupation pre-war: Undergroom
Marital status: Single


* Taken from attestation papers or 1911 census
** Marital status on enlistment or at start of war
Connection with Collingham, Linton or Micklethwaite and reason for inclusion on this web site
  • Named on printed lists of villagers in The Wetherby News or Collingham Parish Magazine

Biography

On the 23rd October 1914, the Wetherby News published a list of local men who were serving. Among that long list of names was A.E.Frost who was listed as employed at The Grange, but it was difficult to identify his parents and family.

Albert Edward Frost is also commemorated on the Wetherby War Memorial where he is recorded as serving in the West Yorkshire Regiment, and that has allowed us to identify him as Private Albert Edward Frost of the 9th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment with a service number of 11790.

Family Background

The recent release of some of the Pension Record Cards and Ledgers has provided us with a way to identify Albert's family. His dependent's record card confirms his service number as 11790 of the West Yorkshire Regiment and names his mother simply as "Mrs Frost". However it gives the important information that her address was Barrow, Bury St.Edmunds. This information allowed us to identify Albert and his parents living in Barrow, near Bury St.Edmunds at the time of the 1911 census. Albert's parents were Edward Harry Frost, a farm labourer, and his wife Ann Frost, a sewing machinist in tailoring working in a clothing factory. Albert was the eldest of seven children, being born in Barrow in 1893. Albert was an under-groom. Albert's siblings were Annie Amelia, aged 14, like her mother a sewing machinist, Elizabeth Emily, aged 12; Alice, aged 9; Fredrick, aged 5; Daisy Violet, aged 2 and Olive Jane, aged just 2 months old. Elizabeth, Alice and Fredrick were all attending school in 1911. Given his job in 1911, and the information that he was employed at The Grange in 1914, we guess that Albert found a job as a Groom at Wetherby and moved here sometime between 1911 and 1914. This information also agrees with the entry for Albert in the Soldiers Died in the Great War Database which identifies him as being born in Barrow, Suffolk.

Service Record

Many local men served in the 9th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment who left the UK in July 1915 for service overseas, arriving in Gallipoli on the 11th July 1915. The main thrust of the British attack in Gallipoli had become bogged down at the tip of the peninsula, and it was therefore decided to make a new landing at Suvla Bay. The 9th West Yorkshire Regiment were destined to land in this attack. The actual landing seemed to go well, but quickly after that ran into serious problems and during July-August 1915, many local men from the Wetherby district lost their lives, including William Herbert Johnson and William Pearson Allan Wilson also listed on this site.

Albert Frost's body was never found and he was listed as 'Presumed Dead' on the 9th August 1915 just under 1 month since he had landed in the area. Albert Edward Frost is commemorated on the Helles Memorial, Gallipoli.

A number of articles in the Wetherby News of the time give accounts of the local soldiers' experiences in Gallipoli. View those reports here

Biography last updated 05 March 2020 18:30:55.


Sources

1911 Census. The National Archives. Class RG14 Piece 10639
The Wetherby News 23/10/1914
First World War Medal Index Cards. The National Archives (WO372).
First World War Medal Index Rolls. The National Archives (WO329).

If you have any photographs or further details about this person we would be pleased to hear from you. Please contact us via: alan.berry@collinghamanddistrictwararchive.info