Family :

Education & Career :

Fielding went to Lord William's Grammar School and Taunton School.

Prior to enlistment he was working as a motor car engineering draftsman at Coventry in the early years of the British motor trade....later to become Austin & Morris and BMC.

Service Life:

Campaigns:

• The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.

The Battle of the Somme 1st July - 18th November 1916 is inevitably characterised by the appalling casualties (60,000) on the first day, July 1st 1916. Having failed to break through the German lines in force, and also failed to maximise opportunities where success was achieved, the battle became a series of attritional assaults on well defended defence in depth. The battle continued officially until 18th November 1916 costing almost 500,000 British casualties. German casualties were about the same, and French about 200,000. The Somme could not be counted a success in terms of ground gained or the cost, but it had a strategic impact as it marked the start of the decline of the German Army. Never again would it be as effective whilst the British Army, learning from its experience eventually grew stronger to become a war winning army. The German High Command recognised that it could never again fight another Somme, a view that advanced the decision to invoke unrestricted submarine warfare in an attempt to starve Britain of food and material, and in doing so accelerated the United States declaration of war thus guaranteeing the eventual outcome. 287 Brethren were killed on the Somme in 1916.

Detail :

He was wounded in November 1914 when an enemy shell exploded on the road where he was riding his motorcycle and was admitted to No.4 Cavalry Field Ambulance on 23rd November 1914. Then to No.2 Clearing Hospital Bailleul and onward to No.4 General Hospital Boulogne on 28th November. Then on 29th via the hospital ship St Andrew to the UK , with a landing at Southampton and onto the ambulance train on 30th.

He was gazetted as 2nd Lt in April 1915 and returned to France where he joined his new unit, the 9th London Regt.

He was still serving with the 9th over a year later when at exactly 07:30am on the morning of Saturday 1st July 1916 he proudly strode into historical immortality as he bravely took his men over the top and was Killed-in-Action on the First Day of The Battle of The Somme during the famous diversionary attack at Gommercourt. Looking at the CWG statement of financial effects papers we see that he lost at least one fellow 2/Lt colleague on 1st July as 2/Lt C.P. Fleetwood of 9th Londons is also listed as Killed in Action.

Francis' body was initially recovered from the battlefield as an unidentified officer, but later identified and and buried at GOMMECOURT BRITISH CEMETERY NO.2, HEBUTERNE.

Thame Gazette "It is with much regret that we have to record the death of Second Lieutenant Francis Willoughby Fielding, which occurred in action on Saturday July 1st. Lieut Fielding was the younger son of Mrs Harry Fielding and the late Mr Harry Fielding (who as for many years connected with the firm of Messrs Bond and Burrows , auctioneers of Thame). Mrs Fielding received news of her son’s death by telegram on Thursday, and later received a confirmatory letter from Major Connolly of the Territorial Force Record Office, London. Lieut Fielding, on the outbreak of hostilities joined the Queen’s Own Oxfordshire Hussars, with which regiment he went to France, from whence he was invalided home and on recovering he obtained a commission in the 9th London Regiment. The deceased officer was only 23 years of age, and was very popular with his fellow officers and men, and his death is greatly regretted by them all. The sympathies of our readers will be with Mrs Fielding in her great loss."

See also: Thame Remembers.
See also: The Old Tamesian Association.

Masonic :

Source :

The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:

• The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
• The (UK) National Archives
• Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
• ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry

Additional Source:

• Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
• Researcher : Bruce Littley