Richard Frank Hoar, known as Frank, was born in Apsley End early in 1894. He was the fifth child born to Richard Thomas Hoar and Louisa Axtell who had a large family of eleven children together. The children were: Thomas Richard, Florence Jane, Montague, Lilly, Frank, Ralph, Annie, Gerald Douglas and Eva. Thomas, their first child, died in infancy and two other children, who are unknown, also died young. On the 8th February 1900, Frank was one of eight boys admitted to Apsley Boys School from the Infant department. One of his schoolmates was Leman Patterson who also fought and died in the Great War and whose biography appears on this site. 

Four years later, Frank and his younger brother Ralph are recorded leaving Apsley Boys School aged ten and nine respectively. Too young to leave school permanently, they presumably moved to another school locally. When he finally completed his schooling, Frank went to work as a ‘Printer’ with John Dickinson & Co. Limited in Apsley Mills where he remained until the outbreak of war. In 1912 he enlisted with the 1st Battalion Hertfordshire Regiment (Territorial Force) for a period of four years, as a way of supplementing his wages at Dickinsons and trained as a reserve soldier.

On the outbreak of war, the Hertfordshire Regiment were immediately mobilised and went to Romford and Bury St. Edmunds to train. In November 1914 Frank and his comrades were sent to France and disembarked at Le Havre on the 6th and over the next few days moved to take up position south of Ypres. Within a few days of arriving Frank was in the trenches facing the enemy for the first time.

On the 18th and 19th November the 1/1st Hertfordshires suffered its first casualties with ten men Killed and one officer Wounded. The early part of 1915 saw the Battalion involved in harsh Winter operations around Cuinchy before it fought in the Battle of Festubert in May and then the Battle of Loos in September. Frank came through these actions unscathed.

1916 began with Frank’s discharge from the Army as his first period of engagement ended after four years, however, he immediately re-enlisted for the duration of the War. Towards the end of the year Frank fought in the last phase of the Somme offensive in three battles in close succession: Thiepval Ridge, Ancre Heights and finally Ancre. Once again Frank’s good fortune held as he survived these actions.

By July 1917 the 1/1st Herts was back in Belgium and preparing for attack in the opening engagement of the Third Battle of Ypres at Pilckem Ridge. This attack began at 3.50 a.m. on the 31st July and it became apparent at a very early stage that the attack would prove extremely costly for the Battalion. 

The War Diaries recorded the following: “31/7/17…as the Bn advanced for the STEENBEEK towards the LANGEMARCK line casualties grew heavier from sniper and machine gun fire…” and again “…The remainder of the Bn, being unable to get through the wire and suffering severe casualties from enfilade MG fire…had to fall back having suffered exceptionally heavy casualties…”.

The final reckoning at Pilckem Ridge was some 459 me Killed, Wounded or Missing and it was there that Frank fell when his luck finally ran out.

Frank died on Tuesday, 31st July 1917.

He was commemorated on the John Dickinson & Co. Limited War Memorial in Apsley

Frank is Remembered with Honour in Track X Cemetery, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium, where he is interred in Grave E. 30.

He was 23 years old when he died.

Frank was eligible for the 1914-15 Star with Clasp, the British War Medal and the Allied Victory Medal. A clasp was instituted in 1919, as published in Army Order no. 361 of 16 October 1919. The clasp, together with two small silver roses, was awarded to those who had served under fire or who had operated within range of enemy mobile artillery in France or Belgium during the period between 5 August and 22 November 1914.