Frederick William Walker
- Family History
- Military History
- Extra Information
- Photographs
Frederick was the son of Frank Walker and Clara Blanche Walker (nee Thompson). They had at least nine children: Francis, Frederick William, James Harry, Lily, Bernard, Clara, Herbert, May and Wallace. All the children apart from James, who was recorded on the census as having been born in Bramcote, were born in Basford. In 1891 Frank, a coal miner/hewer, and Clara were living at 5 David Lane, Basford, with their six children; Francis (10), Frederick (9), James (8), Lily (5), Bernard (2) and Clara (7m.) By 1901 they were at 7 West Gate, Basford, and there were nine children in the household; Francis, Frederick, James, Lily, Bernard, Clara, Herbert (9), May (7) and Wallace (2). They also had a lodger, Charles Hillyear (56). At the time of Frederick's death in 1918 his parents were living at 40 West Gate. Frederick married Caroline Augusta Button in 1905 and in 1911 they were living at 64 Bloomsgrove Street, Radford, with their daughter, Ida Blanche (b. October 1906). Frederick was a hosiery trimmer and his wife a hair net threader. According to a notice of Frederick's death in the local paper, he and his wife had at least one more child. This was probably Frederick Joseph, who was born in March 1914. Ida remarried in 1929 (Robinson) and died in 1992.
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve but initially in the Army Reserve (attested 10 December 1915). He was mobilised on 14 August 1917 and drafted to the BEF France on 17 December the same year, joining Anson Bn. on 5 January 1918. Frederick was killed in action on 19 February 1918 and is buried in Fifteen Ravine British Cemetery, Villers-Plouch (grave ref. II.C.4). His grave was probably brought into the cemetery after the Armistice. Frederick qualified for the British War Medal and Victory Medal. The entry for 19 February in the Battalion's war diary reads: "Quiet day. Slight Minenwerfer (sic) activity causing 7 casualties." CWGC - History of Fifteen Ravine British Cemetery (extract): '"Fifteen Ravine" was the name given by the Army to the shallow ravine, once bordered by fifteen trees, which ran at right angles to the railway about 800 metres south of the village of Villers-Plouich, but the cemetery is in fact in "Farm Ravine," on the east side of the railway line, nearer to the village. The cemetery, sometimes called Farm Ravine Cemetery, was begun by the 17th Welsh Regiment in April 1917, a few days after the capture of the ravine by the 12th South Wales Borderers. It continued in use during the Battle of Cambrai (November 1917) and until March 1918, when the ravine formed the boundary between the Third and Fifth Armies. On 22 March, the second day of the great German offensive, the ground passed into their hands after severe fighting, and it was not regained until the end of the following September. In March 1918, the cemetery contained 107 graves (now Plot I), but it was greatly enlarged after the Armistice when graves were brought in from the battlefields south-west of Cambrai and other cemeteries, including ... Marcoing Sunken Road Cemetery on the Eastern slope of the Ravine running north-east from Villers-Plouich. It contained the graves of 75 officers and men from the United Kingdom (mainly of the Royal Naval Division) who fell in December 1917-April 1918.' (www.cwgc.org)
A notice in the Nottingham Evening Post on 4 March 1918 probably refers to Frederick although the rank is incorrect: 'Walker. Killed in action February 19th 1918, Private Frederick William. Brother Frank [Francis] and Lizzy.' Nottingham Evening Post notice (abridged), 5 March 1918: 'Walker. Killed in action February 19th, AB Frederick William Walker, husband of Caroline Walker, 29 Boden Street, Radford, age 36. Wife and children. Son of Mr and Mrs Walker, 40 West Gate, Basford. Mother, father sisters, brothers.'
