Frederick Charles Westmacott

Frederick was born on 30th August 1897, at St Germans Cornwall, near the border with Devon. His father was the Reverend Walter Westmacott.  He had been Vicar of the parish since 1890.  His mother was Helen Maria Maud Anstice, daughter of Mr John Anstice J.P., of Wood Hall, Madeley, Shropshire.   The couple had married in 1883.  The family moved to Probus in 1913, where the Rev.Westmacott served as Rector until 1928.  Seven of his sons served in the First World War; Frederick was one of them.

 

Frederick must have been a bright, intelligent young man; in 1910 he was elected to a scholarship to Marlborough College, Wiltshire.  This was an independent boarding school, actually founded in 1843 for the sons of Church of England clergy.

 

However, the First World War was to intervene.  With six of his brothers all serving their country in the armed services, there was an inevitability that Frederick would follow in their footsteps. Therefore, Frederick was granted a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 3rd Battalion of the Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent) Regiment in October 1916. He was only 19 years old.  A 2nd Lieutenant was the most junior officer’s rank, and the life expectancy of junior officers on the Western Front was often measured only in weeks.  Leading their men from the front always, and with their uniforms quite distinct from that of their men, they were certain targets. 

 

His eldest brother John had been badly wounded in the head in April 1915, losing the sight of one eye.  And an elder brother Spencer, a pre-war regular army officer, had been killed the following month.  This may account for the very sombre set of Frederick’s face, as can be seen by his portrait photograph. 

 

Some months into his service, Frederick was now serving with the 11th Battalion of the Royal West Kents.  In late July of 1917, his battalion when into the front line, taking over a section of trenches from the 6th Battalion London Regiment. It was in the infamous Ypres sector of Belgium. The weather was apparently good.  What was not good was that the Germans were laying down a heavy artillery barrage on that same section of trenches, causing “a good many casualties.” 

 

An attack was planned for the 31st July, which hoped to secure two objectives: the capture of the German front line and an area behind that known as Forret Farm or Hollebeke. The attack was to be carried out by two battalions, Frederick’s 11th Queen’s Own and the 18th Bn King’s Royal Rifles.  On their left, the 123rd Brigade was to attack.  Before the 31st, the Germans lines were bombarded for several days.  The Germans of course did the same, and began shelling heavily from midnight until the start of the assault.

 

Frederick along with his battalion, assembled in the front line trenches at 3.20am. The Germans spotted the left hand company and began shelling them specifically.  At 3.50am  the British barrage started again.  At the start of the assault, before the men went ‘over the top,’ this barrage became a creeping barrage to protect the advancing infantry.  The barrage was to advance 100 yards every four minutes, and the infantry had to keep up with it.  A machine gun barrage was also laid down. 

 

The 11th Queen’s Own gained its objectives in this assault, establishing a new front line in the old German trenches. The War Diary states: “Battalion attacked Hollebeke with 123rd Brigade on left and 18th KRRC on right ... objective gained with heavy casualties owing to the fact that the battalions on the flanks could not attain their objectives.”

 

During the battalions tour of duty on the front line between 24th July and 5th August (including the attack on Hollebeke), the battalion lost 4 officers killed and 8 wounded; 32 of other ranks were killed, and 241 wounded; 54 men were missing.

 

During the early days of August, the 11th Queen’s Own continued to hold Hollebeke and the line captured on the 31st.  The weather had turned very bad, and there was heavy shelling.  On the 4th August, the battalion was surely glad to leave this front line position, and the 15th Battalion Hampshire Regiment took over.  Frederick’s battalion marched back to Wood Camp at Reninghelst, but 2nd Lieutenant Frederick Westmacott was not amongst them.  He had been killed by a shell burst, and had been buried where he fell.  In the subsequent months of fighting to and fro over the same ground, his grave site was lost, and he has no known grave.  He is commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, West Vlaanderen, Belgium.  He is also commemorated on the Celtic Cross that is situated next the porch of Probus Parish Church. 

 

The last word should be left to Frederick’s commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel A. C. Corfe, D.S.O.  In a letter to Frederick’s parents, he wrote:

With the deepest regret I have to announce the death in Action of your son 2nd-Lt F.C. Westmacott, of this Battalion on 31 July last.  He was killed instantly by a shell after he had gallantly reached his objective during the attack on Hollebecke.  He was one of the finest officers in the Battalion and was extremely popular with all ranks.  His sense of duty was very high.  Shortly before he met his death, a shell burst in his dug-out, and though very much shaken, he refused to go down for a rest but carried on.  He was buried where he fell, and where so many of his men lie near Hollebecke.  His kit and personal effects have been forwarded to you through the proper channels.  Among the many we lost in the Action, there is no one whose presence is missed so much.