Pte 17360 William Francis (Frank) Hobrough

• Age: 21
• From: Birmingham
• Regiment: The King's (Liverpool Regiment) 19th Btn
• K.I.A Tuesday 31st July 1917
• Commemorated at: Hooge Crater Cem, Zillebeke
  Panel Ref: IV.A.5

William Francis Hobrough, who was known as Frank, was born in September 1895 in Bromsgrove and was the son of Arthur Hobrough and Lucy Hawke (nee Heslop). Arthur married the widowed Lucy in Goole, Yorkshire in 1894.

He was baptised on the 30^th June 1895 also in Bromsgrove. Lucy died aged 44 in Birkenhead in 1899 a short time after giving birth to William’s brother Arthur Leslie, leaving Arthur senior with two very young sons.

Arthur senior had been born in Beccles, Suffolk and was a qualified civil engineer by trade, an Associate Member of the Institute of Civil Engineers (AMICE) . According to his nomination to the Institute he had worked on the Severn Bridge Railway, submarine blastings at Sharpness Docks, the Worcester and Birmingham Canal and Goole Docks amongst other projects.

Arthur married Ann Jones in Egremont in January 1901, it was Ann’s third marriage. Annie Guttridge was born in Leicester in 1849 the child of two Licensed Victuallers. At the age of 17, Annie married Robert Kilby in Leicester, she had one son who died in infancy and another John Henry Kilby in 1869. Robert died in 1878, and at some point after that Annie and her son John moved to Liverpool. She married a widower called George Jones at St James Church, Walton on the Hill in February 1881, the couple had two children George born in 1883 and Annie born in 1884. While Annie was married to her second husband George Jones, they were joint Licencees of The Leicester Hotel at 20 Grenville Street South in Liverpool. They took on the pub sometime around 1883. After George died Annie kept the pub and her new husband Arthur joined her as Licensee bringing his two small sons to live with Annie and her teenage son and daughter.

The 1901 census, which was taken only three months after their marriage shows them living at the pub. Arthur is 45 and Annie is 47, Frank is 5 and his brother Arthur is 2, Annie’s son George is 18 and daughter Annie is 17. The couple have a live in servant Alice Kenyon, and a barmaid Cecile Parkes, both aged 20.

Annie’s firstborn son John Henry Kilby died in 1910 at the age of 41. He had also been a Licensed Victualler in Parr Street, Liverpool, and then latterly an agent for Kops Ales which was the first brewer of non alcoholic beer in the UK.

The 1911 census records all the family helping out in the Leicester Hotel, Arthur and Annie are the Licensed Victuallers, George is now married to Louie who are both described as assisting in the bar. Young Annie is assisting in the bar and house, Frank is working in the office and young Arthur is at school. There is also a live in servant Mary Millward.

Frank and his brother Arthur enlisted together in Liverpool in the 19th Battalion, The King’s Liverpool Regiment, Frank as Private 17360 and Arthur as 17359.

Formed on 07^th September 1914 the 19^th Battalion trained locally at Sefton Park and remained living at home or in rented accommodation until November 1914. They then moved to the hutted accommodation at Lord Derby’s estate at Knowsley Hall. On 30th April 1915 the 19th Battalion alongside the other three Pals battalions left Liverpool via Prescot Station for further training at Belton Park, Grantham. They remained here until September 1915 when they reached Larkhill Camp on Salisbury Plain. 

Arthur embarked for France on November 7th 1915 and Frank on December 12th 1915. Frank was killed in action on the 31st July 1917 aged 21 on the first day of the Third Battle of Ypres, better known as the Battle of Passchendaele. He had previously been admitted to 18th General Hospital on 31st July 1916 probably as a result of wounds sustained at Guillemont. He was discharged on the 04th August, 1916. Arthur was only 19 years of age when his brother was killed.

The 19th Battalion started the day in Divisional Reserve but were called forward in the early morning of 31st July and reached Maple Copse in late afternoon. It was originally detailed to continue with the morning’s attack but this was cancelled and they eventually relieved a Battalion of the 53rd Brigade in the newly captured line, sustaining casualties from shell fire.

The Battalion was relieved on the night of 3rd/4th August.

Although not actively engaged in the assault the Battalion lost 26 men were killed or died of wounds with four officers and 101 men wounded.

Frank was one of those men and he now rests at Hooge Crater Cemetery, Zillebeke, Belgium.

Hooge Chateau and its stables were the scene of very fierce fighting throughout the First World War. On 31 October 1914, the staff of the 1st and 2nd Divisions were wiped out when the chateau was shelled; from 24 May to 3 June 1915, the chateau was defended against German attacks and in July 1915, the crater was made by a mine sprung by the 3rd Division. On 30 July, the Germans took the chateau, and on 9 August, it and the crater were regained by the 6th Division. The Germans retook Hooge on 6 June 1916 and on 31 July 1917, the 8th Division advanced 1.6 Kms beyond it. It was lost for the last time in April 1918, but regained by the 9th (Scottish) and 29th Divisions on 28 September.

Hooge Crater Cemetery was begun by the 7th Division Burial Officer early in October 1917. It contained originally 76 graves, in Rows A to D of Plot I, but was greatly increased after the Armistice when graves were brought in from the battlefields of Zillebeke, Zantvoorde and Gheluvelt and other smaller cemeteries.

There are now 5,916 Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War buried or commemorated in this cemetery. 3,570 of the burials are unidentified, but special memorials record the names of a number of casualties either known or believed to be buried among them, or whose graves in other cemeteries were destroyed by shell fire.

The cemetery was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.    

He was reported missing in the Weekly Casualty List 18^th Sept 1917

King's (Liverpool Regiment) - Hobrough, 17360, F.(Liverpool);

Soldiers Effects to father Arthur and mother Ann, she also received a pension for her son George Jones.

Frank is commemorated in the Hall of Remembrance, Liverpool Town Hall, Panel 56.

Arthur went home after the war, married and lived until 1943. Their father died in January 1919, aged 63 and is buried in Allerton Cemetery. Their stepmother Annie died in January 1922. Their step sister Annie married in 1916 and died in 1946.

Their step brother George Jones served in the Army Service Corp (Mechanical Transport) M/2/077249, serving for a period overseas after December 1915. He died of pneumonia at Harley Hill Army Hospital, Catterick Bridge while still on active service on August 28th 1916 and is buried in Hipswell (St John) Churchyard.

Arthur and Annie Hobrough, as Licencees of the Leicester Hotel, were involved in a police prosecution in September 1916 as reported in the Liverpool Echo on September 18th. A barmaid, Dorothy Luke, served two overseas sailors with whisky at 4.30 in the afternoon which was at the time against the law, permitted times being noon to 2pm and 6.30pm to 9.30pm. This was conveniently witnessed by a police Sergeant and two constables all in plain clothes, which could have been a sting operation. Arthur and Annie were responsible as Licensees, although Arthur was away at the time he still pleaded guilty but Annie pleaded not guilty stating she was out of the house. The barmaid took sole responsibility, but the Magistrate seemed doubtful that she would have taken that personal risk as the penalty was 6 months imprisonment. The case against Annie was dismissed, Arthur was fined £5 for each of the two men served. The Magistrate summed up “There has been a very gross breach of the law, and I am not at all satisfied that we have arrived at the true explanation. I cannot help feeling we have not. Under the circumstances I shall not commit Luke to prison, because, frankly, I don’t accept your explanation. If I did I should send you to prison. You will be fined 40s in each of the two cases. I don’t believe you are really the person to blame.” The two overseas sailors were given a month in prison each, with hard labour.

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