208361 Pte. Arthur Frederick Wickenden British Army 1st Battalion Royal Fusiliers My Granddad, Arthur Wickenden lied about his age to join the Army on the 28th of January 1911 having been born 15/1/1895. He was posted to the 1st Battalion Royal Fusiliers who were at Kinsale in Ireland when the war broke out. The Battalion was moved to Cambridgeshire and then in to France on 7th of September 1914. He was either hit by a bullet, but more likely shrapnel in the stomach. Upon recovery, he was posted to 2nd Battalion Royal Fusiliers and went to Gallipoli as a replacement for troops killed or wounded there. 2nd Battalion went to France and Granddad was wounded again. The thought is that he was gassed. When recovered he was posted back to his original battalion. The story is that he was wounded again in an advance when he caught a burst from a machine gun and laid on the battlefield for three days. The wounds resulted in him losing the use of the fingers on one hand. He left the army as an invalid on 28/11/1917 shown as aged 25 years on his record but actually a month and a half away from being 23. Granddad also changed his name a little as he was baptised Frederick Arthur Wickenden.
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