2nd Lieutenant Francis Harold Chappell
| Date of Birth | c. 1895 |
|---|---|
| Age at Death | 19 |
| Date of Death | 3 September 1916 |
| Service Number | 9559 |
| Military Service | 16th Battalion Sherwood Foresters |
| Merton Address | Oxwycke, Graham Road, Mitcham |
| Local Memorial | St. Mark's Church, Mitcham |
Additional Information
Francis’s family appear to have been comfortably off. They lived in a seven roomed house called Oxwycke on Graham Road in Mitcham and, according to the 1901 census, they employed a servant called Emily Rose. There were four children, Mabel, born in in 1890, Roderick born 1893, Francis born 1895 and Donald born in 1897. Their father Henry was a Clerk in an Assurance firm and their mother’s name was Sarah.
Ten years later at the 1911 census they were still living in the same house but no longer had a servant. Francis was now 16 and had joined the Civic Service.
Francis died on the Somme. He was a 2nd Lieutenant with the 16th Battalion of the Notts, and Derby (Sherwood Foresters) Regiment and was initially reported as “Missing, believed killed”. His remains were never identified and his name is one of the 72,000 listed on the Thiepval Memorial.