Site Home
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site you agree to accept cookies.
If you enjoy this site please consider making a donation.
Great War Home
Search
Add Stories & Photos
Library
Help & FAQs
Features
Allied Army
Day by Day
RFC & RAF
Prisoners of War
War at Sea
Training for War
The Battles
Those Who Served
Hospitals
Civilian Service
Women at War
The War Effort
Central Powers Army
Central Powers Navy
Imperial Air Service
Library
World War Two
Submissions
Add Stories & Photos
Time Capsule
Information
Help & FAQs
Glossary
Our Facebook Page
Volunteering
News
Events
Contact us
Great War Books
About
223734Pte. William Franklin
British Army 2nd Btn Durham Light Infantry
from:Dalston, London
Grandad Bill & Nanny Elsie on their wedding day
My Granddad William Franklin was born on 12th. March 1889. He enlisted at Stratford, London on 12th. March 1907 - being his 18th birthday - in the Durham Light Infantry, (2nd. Battalion) no.9960. He served for 5 years of his army service as a regular and then went onto 3 years Army Reserve in 1912.When war broke out on 4th August 1914 he saw on a poster on the police station notice board, High Road, Tottenham that all Army Reservists should report for duty at once. This he did and re-joined his old regiment and was part of the British Expeditionary Force of September 1914 that went to France and Flanders, "The Old Contemptibles" that distinguished themselves so gallantly in those early battles of 1914, and in 1915 and 1916. He was awarded 1914 Star (5th Aug. - 22nd Nov. 1914), 1914-1918 Medal and The Great War for Civiliisation 1914-1919.
He was transferred to the Royal Munster Fusiliers on 1st April 1917, served in Ireland and was discharged on 1st September 1917 as being no longer physically fit for War Service, aged 28 years and 174 days. He had served 8 years and 110 days with the Colours and 2 years and 64 days in the Army Reserve. His War Service was therefore 3 years and 28 days.
Although The Durham Light Infantry was an infantry regiment, Pte. William Franklin also obtained a Mounted Infantry Certificate in 1907. While he was in the army he married and went on to have 9 children of whom one was my Mum who was born 30th. October 1916. One of the children died during infancy in the 1920's. Two of the sons also went on to serve in the army during the 1939/45 war. William Franklin died in 1973, aged 84 years, having been an inspector on London Buses throughout his civilian life. Most of the family were evacuated to St. Leonards at the outbreak of war in 1939 and he retired there, working part-time as a porter in Marine Court, St. Leonards-on-Sea, having survived the London Blitz during WW2, and lived there until his death.
Related Content:
Can you help us to add to our records?
The names and stories on this website have been submitted by their relatives and friends. If your relations are not listed please add their names so that others can read about them
Did your relative live through the Great War? Do you have any photos, newspaper clippings, postcards or letters from that period? Have you researched the names on your local or war memorial?
If so please let us know.
Do you know the location of a Great War "Roll of Honour?"We are very keen to track down these often forgotten documents and obtain photographs and transcriptions of the names recorded so that they will be available for all to remember.
Help us to build a database of information on those who served both at home and abroad so that future generations may learn of their sacrifice.
Celebrate your own Family History
Celebrate by honouring members of your family who served in the Great War both in the forces and at home. We love to hear about the soldiers, but also remember the many who served in support roles, nurses, doctors, land army, muntions workers etc.
Please use our Family History resources to find out more about your relatives. Then please send in a short article, with a photo if possible, so that they can be remembered on these pages.
The free section of The Wartime Memories Project is run by volunteers.
This website is paid for out of our own pockets, library subscriptions and from donations made by visitors. The popularity of the site means that it is far exceeding available resources and we currently have a huge backlog of submissions.
If you are enjoying the site, please consider making a donation, however small to help with the costs of keeping the site running.
Hosted by:
Copyright MCMXCIX - MMXXIV
- All Rights Reserved -We do not permit the use of any content from this website for the training of LLMs or for use in Generative AI, it also may not be scraped for the purpose of creating other websites.