231950 Pte. Frank Shaw British Army 1st Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers from:Huddersfield (d.12th April 1918) Frank Shaw is my uncle (my mother's brother) he joined the army aged 16 on 19 Nov 1915 serving with the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry with number 2345. His father, (my grandfather) wrote to the War Office including Frank's birth certificate proving that he was only 16 at the time of enlistment. The Army had no choice but to transfer him to class with army reserve, and send him home.
Frank wrote to his former battalion prior to his 18th birthday reminding them that he was due to report, however, he was sent a mobilisation order sending him to the 2/9th Battalion of the Highland Light Infantry, it was now he became private 50839.
On 28th March 1918 he finally sailed for France
He was transferred to the Royal Scots Fusiliers renumbered to 41355 and joined the 1st battalion on 2nd of April 1918 and was killed a week later west of Locan near the Basses Canal.
Frank was never found but he is commemorated on the Ploegsteert Memorial. The names of the missing are carved into regiment panels that run around the inside of the memorial. One of them is a young man, so keen to join the army that he falsified his real age of 16 and once spotted wrote to remind the army to recall him. Once with his battalion in France, he served for exactly a week before losing his life.
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