Today | News | Books | Recipes Adventure | Science Fiction | Ghost stories | Poetry | Children | History BookAustralia, 18 June, 1914, and settled at Glen Innes, New South Wales; enlisted in Jan. 1915; left with the fourth reinforcements, and was killed in action at the Dardanelles, 10 Dec. 1915; _unm._ He was buried on the slope of the hill where he fell, overlooking Anzac Bay. =FRANKLIN, ARTHUR=, Chief Stoker, 286935, H.M.S. Hogue; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914. =FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 3262), 164423, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914. =FRANKLIN, WILLIAM THOMAS=, Seaman, R.N.R., 4902B, H.M.S. Cressy lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914. =FRANKS, JABEZ=, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., Ch. B. 8075), S.S. 103825, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914. =FRASER, ALEXANDER=, V.D., Lieut.-Col., 1/4th Battn. Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders (T.F.), eldest _s._ of the late Alexander Fraser, Provost of Inverness, Agent of the Commercial Bank of Scotland there, by his wife, Elizabeth (Island Bank House, Inverness), dau. of the Rev. John Spray, M.A., Vicar of Kinneagh, Ireland; _b._ Beauly, co. Inverness, 6 May, 1865; educ. the Royal Academy, Inverness, Inverness College and Edinburgh University, and was admitted a Solicitor on 25 March, 1890, and made a Notary Public on 18 Oct. 1892. He practised in Inverness and became Senior Partner in the firm of Fraser & Ross of that town. He joined the ranks of the 1st Volunteer Battn. of the Cameron Highlanders, 9 May, 1883, and served with them until 10 Nov. 1887, and with the Q.R.V.B. Royal Scots from 20 Feb. 1888 to 13 Nov. 1889, and received a commission as 2nd Lieut. in the former, 17 May, 1890. He was promoted Lieut., 20 Dec. 1890; Capt., 10 Aug. 1898; Hon. Major, 5 April, 1902; Major, 25 Feb. 1905; and from 24 Feb. 1909 to 23 Aug. 1913, was Lieut.-Col. Commanding. He then retired and joined the Reserve of Officers (T.F.). On the outbreak of the European War he immediately volunteered for foreign service and rejoined, 19 Sept. 1914, on a reserve unit being formed at Inverness; and his successor in command of the 4th, being incapacitated for active service by an accident, he was re-appointed Lieut.-Col. Commanding, 29 Oct. following. He went to the Front with his Battn. in Feb. 1915, and was killed in action at Festubert, France, 18 May, 1915. On the 16th, the first day of the British attack on the German trenches south of La Bassée, the 4th Camerons were in reserve, and occupied trenches and dug-outs made by themselves, about 1,000 yards behind the British line, and on the afternoon of the 17th were ordered forward to the attack, and moved via the village of Festubert up to the trenches captured by the British the day before. The objective was a long trench, previously a communication trench, but now used as a fire trench by the enemy, with a group of houses on the enemy's right. Two Battns. were ordered to attack, and the Camerons were allotted the houses and the portion of the trench next them; the other Battn. being on the right. Our artillery bombarded the enemy during the day and at 7.30, just as dark was coming on, the attack was launched. They had to advance over what was apparently a perfectly level piece of greasy ground, about 800 yards across, but which was found to be intersected by deep ditches full of water. The Battn. on the right suffered so severely that they had to fall back, and some of D Coy. had to retire with them, but the remainder successfully rushed the enemy's trench. Every effort was immediately made to put it in a state of defence, but the houses had not been captured and our supports failed in the dark to find the trench where the Battn. was, and when, just at dawn, the Germans made a strong counter-attack and assailed both flanks with hand-grenades, Col. Fraser saw that it could not be held and ordered a retreat. He himself refused to leave his post of danger before the last of his men was away, and just as he was starting to go he was shot at the edge of the ditch. The Chaplain, in a letter to Mrs. Fraser, wrote: "Shortly after I joined the Battn. as Chaplain, we were ordered to take up a certain position. The date was 11 May. The Battn. waited there in reserve until last night. At four o'clock in the afternoon the order came to march out to ---- and turn due east. The front British trench was reached without any casualties, and, led by your brave husband, the gallant Camerons crossed over the backbone right into the German trench. It had been evacuated by the enemy, but a communication trench was still held by them, leading to their reserve trenches. The task allotted to our Battn. was to cut off the German retreat from this communication trench. Officers and men behaved like immortal heroes.... Lieut. ----, A Coy. told me that he saw Col. Fraser at an advanced point. He was then wounded, but was giving orders. Lieut. ... was sent with orders to another point, and when he returned he could find no further trace of the Colonel. When the Battn. had to fall back under a withering fire and the roll was called, there was still no word of the Colonel. At 11 a.m. to-day Dr. Lindsay and I went out to look for him, and though we reached to within a few hundred yards of the spot, no trace of him could be found.... In the few days that I had been with the Battn. I was led to cherish the profoundest admiration for your husband. He was a wise leader, a considerate commander, and one of the finest men that I ever had the good fortune to meet.... I was very much struck with the religious note in his life, and it is a source of inspiration to me to recall how earnestly he counselled his men to guard against all manner of excesses.... It will comfort you to know that the Brigadier-General told me that the Camerons crowned themselves with glory." He was twice mentioned in Despatches by F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French (31 May, 1915, and 15 Oct. 1915). Col. Fraser was Factor for the Estates of Culloden and Ferintosh; a military member of the County Territorial Force Association for Inverness; a member of the Town Council of Inverness, and for some time a Magistrate; Clerk to the Deacons Court of the United Free High Church; President of the Sanitary Association of Scotland, 1912-13; convenor of Public Health Committee of Inverness, and secretary of the northern branch of the Royal Arboricultural Society. He was Right Worshipful Master of St. John's Lodge of Freemasons, Inverness, and Provincial Grand Treasurer of Inverness-shire. He passed the School of Musketry, Hythe, 18 Oct. 1899, and had certificates for Tactics (May, 1892), Organisation and Equipment (May, 1903), and Military Topography (Nov. 1903). He had the Long Service medal, the Volunteer Decoration, and the Coronation medal (1911). Col. Fraser _m._ at the West Parish Church, Inverness, 27 April, 1893, Ella (Westwood, Inverness), only dau. of the late Col. Duncan Menzies, Blarich, Sutherland, Scotland, who for many years commanded the 1st Sutherland Highland Rifle Voluntee |