Lance Corporal Frank Wilfred Thain
| Date of Birth | 18 January 1896 |
|---|---|
| Age at Death | 20 |
| Date of Death | 7 July 1916 |
| Service Number | 11045 |
| Military Service | 8th Battalion Royal Fusiliers |
| Merton Address | 62 Graham Road |
| Local Memorial | St. Andrew's Church, Wimbledon |
Additional Information
Born on the 18th of January, 1896 to Samuel and Fanny Ellen Thain, Frank was baptised on the 9th of April at Holy Trinity Church, Wimbledon.
His father worked as a farrier, and Frank was the youngest of 7 children (not counting two who were deceased by 1911), with older siblings Robert, Harry, William, and Mabel, and two more sisters who had already left the family home by the time of the 1901 census, when the family was living at 10 Church Road. In 1911, the family had perhaps downsized to a four room home at 62 Graham Road, as only Harry and Frank were still living at home. Frank was 15 at the time, and working as an errand boy for a fishmonger.
Frank, who is occasionally listed as Frederick in military records, enlisted on the 1st of April, 1916, as a private with the Royal Fusiliers, though he had risen to the rank of Lance Corporal by the time he was killed in action on the 7th of July, 1916, while serving near Thiepval, on the Somme.