Frank Lee Wilkinson died of wounds on this day in 1914

Frank Lee Wilkinson was born in Hull on 10 May 1895, the son of Francis Lee Wilkinson, an oilmiller pressman, and his wife Emily (née Lockyer). He had 3 younger brothers and a younger sister. In 1911, the family lived at 8 Little Lockwood Street in Wincolmlee, a district of Hull. Frank attended Board School, an elementary school in nearby Lincoln Street.

He worked as a General Labourer until, on 5 December 1912, he enlisted in Bradford in the Royal Field Artillery. His papers say that he was 5' 7" in height, with brown hair and brown eyes. On 16 August 1914, he was sent to France with the 47th Battery. On 2 September 1914, at the Battle of the Marne, he received a gunshot wound in his right arm.

He was evacuated to No. 10 General Hospital at Rouen but died from his wounds on 1 October 1914 and was buried the next day in the cemetery in the Sepulchre des Rouen. 

The Rev. C.M. Chavasse, Chaplain to the Forces wrote to Frank's parents

"I write to tell you all I know of the last hours of your son, who died in hospital here on 1 Oct. His was a rather sad experience, but patiently borne. He had received a gunshot wound in the right arm during the Battle of the Marne on Sunday, 20 Sept, and arrived in the hospital here on Thursday, 24 Sept. He was wonderfully good and patient and brave, and lay very quietly in the corner bed of the hospital tent. There was always a smile from him whenever I came to see him, and I do not think anyone realised how bad he was through his bravery. He was a very good boy too and, as he told me once, never forgot his prayers, and was trusting in our Lord Jesus Christ. He ought to have gone home on a hospital ship on the 30th, but another operation was necessary, which prevented this. This was a sad disappointment to him but, again, no-one could have been braver or more patient. And then on the 1st came the sudden collapse. I was suddenly fetched to his side in the morning, and had just time to whisper a prayer in his ear and to feel him squeeze my hand when he became unconscious, and very peacefully passed away at 2.15 pm".

He is buried in St. Nazaire (Toutes-Aides) Cemetery.

71456 Gunner Frank Lee Wilkinson, 47th Battery, Royal Field Artillery