Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | Basra Memorial | Panel 12 Basra | |
| 2. Book: | The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Pg.135 | |
| 3. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 53D GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | |||
Early Life :
Note text in quotes is from AE Staley's personal diary and recollections: See also Journals.Family :
Son of Alfred Evelyn Staley, of Coombe Hill, Keinton Mandeville, Somerset, and the late Mary Henrietta Staley."On 9th June, being Whitsunday, our first child and dear son Francis Colin Staley was born at the great home in Cuttack. My wife was attended by Dr Bovill, the Civil Surgeon. His birth was reported according to rule to the General of India"
Siblings:
Sister: DOROTHEA CATHARINE
Brother: Christopher Evelyn (died in 1897: "The doctor, Bell, informed me by letter that the dear child died of an abscess on the brain, probably the result of a fall. He was buried in Croxall churchyard")
Education & Career :
Attended Cleveland House preparatory school, Weymouth, Dorset.
Attended Sherborne School (Abbey House) May 1903-December 1908; 6th form; Longmuir English prize 1907. Took part in the 1905 Sherborne Pageant
"Frank won the Digby Prize at Sherbourne School. The headmaster however said an informality in the paper set, but agreed to give same amount from prize fund. Frank left school for good at end of term."
"14th August [1907]. I took Frank via Newhaven Dieppe to Paris for him to learn French in the family of a M. Gauthier 51 Rue Victor Hugo Bois Colombes, for a month. Pleasant family; father, mother, one son aged 23, and 3 daughters".
"August 1911. Frank failed for the first try for the Indian Civil Service open competition being 209th out of about 240 candidates -a poor show but he was too confident and the exam was very difficult."
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 5th Battalion Somerset Light Infantry |
| Action : Mesopotamia |
At the outbreak of war the British, together with Indian troops, resolved to protect oil supply in the region by occupying the area around Basra at Abadan. This evolved into a series of campaigns towards Baghdad against the Turkish forces as Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) was part of the Ottoman Empire. Meetings in late 1914 and into 1915 led the Viceroy and Indian government at Simla to reconsider the limited involvement of troops and they decided to order further advances with a view to securing the Shatt-al-Hai, a canal connecting the Tigris and Euphrates river and potentially capturing Baghdad. The British government disagreed and wished to conserve forces for the Western front. The Viceroy was given permission to act as it wished, but told in no uncertain terms that no reinforcements should be expected.
The initial success experienced by the British and Indian forces quickly disintegrated in the face of Ottoman opposition. The Siege of Kut-Al-Amara began on 7th December with the besieging of an 8,000 strong British-Indian garrison in the town of Kut, 100 miles south of Baghdad, by the Ottoman Army. These campaigns produced few tactical benefits, indeed the catastrophic defeat at Kut in 1916 was a major setback. Badhdad was eventually taken in March 1917.
The conditions in Mesopotamia were dreadful. The climate, sickness and disease produced large losses in addition to battle casualties. About as many men died of disease as were killed in action. The Mesopotamia front was part of a strategy hoping for success at lower cost than the Western Front but no decisive victory was achieved.
"1st Sept 1908 appeared appointing Frank 2nd Lieut. in the N. Somerset Yeomanry"
"May 1909. Frank went for the first half into training with the 16th Lancers at Aldershot, and for the second half to the Yeomanry training West Division on Salisbury Plain and was to Sir Ian Hamilton who was commanding."
"On May 5th 1914 we received news that Frank had passed his final army examinations being 16th out of the 36 for Infantry Commission. Frank was rejected at the medical examination because he could not read much in a room on a board in London. He has good field sight."
"On 4th August Germany & Austria began war against Russia, France & Great Britain. Frank in Somerset 5th Battalion (Territorials) on Salisbury Plains mobilised with his but not ordered as yet abroad; a Lieutenant."
"7th October. Frank left Southampton in the Kennilworth Castle Unit 5th Somerset R.I. for in India having volunteered for foreign service."
"1915. Early in year Frank passed his gun examination."
"Frank was machine gun instructor at 1916."
Detail :
"Frank having gone to Mesopotamia to General was killed in action on 8th March. His brother officers wrote that after doing splendid work all morning being second in command of the machine gun brigade, he was retired in the afternoon for a rest in the rear. While talking cheerfully in a group of officers a bullet by chance struck him in the head and killed him on the spot. Two and a half days after the event I had a vision of his falling in action with a single wound in his head, in a defeat, in swamps. These particulars were true. I was informed by the war office 2days after this vision that he had been killed, but the full particulars I did not get till two months later, and before then I had told his sister and several others what I had seen."
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Old Shirburnian No. 3304 E.C. | London |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
16th November 1910 | 9th January 1911 | 15th February 1911 |
On 16 November 1910, F.C. Staley was initiated in the Old Shirburian Lodge.
At a meeting of the Old Shirburnian Lodge held on 13 July 1919, W.Bro. Colonel William Watts proposed that a small tablet be placed in the School Chapel in memory of two Lodge members who had lost their lives in the First World War, Francis Colin Staley and Edmund Basil Walker.
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