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Frederick Youens (1893-1917)


Vicoria Cross hero


Frederick Youens was born in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, in August 1893, the son of a basket maker. After attending National School, Frederick won a scholarship to the Royal Grammar School in High Wycombe in 1906. There he excelled at sports and gained his first military experience in the school’s Officer Training Corps. After leaving school in 1911, he became a student teacher at St Peter’s School in Rochester.

In August 1914, Frederick Youens enlisted as a Private in the Royal Army Medical Corps. Later, he transferred to the 7th (Service) Battalion East Surrey Regiment and went to France with this battalion in June 1915. During the Battle of Loos in September 1915, he worked all night dressing wounds and helping the wounded to shelter, before he was seriously wounded in the arm. It was a year before his arm had sufficiently healed for him to re-join his regiment. He was then sent to an Officer Cadet Battalion for training. At the end of the course, Frederick Youens was commissioned as a Temporary Second Lieutenant and joined “C” Company, 13th (Service) Battalion DLI in Belgium.

In early July 1917, 13 DLI was in trenches on Hill 60, south of Ypres, under constant shell and machine-gun fire. Just after midnight on 7 July, Second Lieutenant Youens led a three-man patrol out into No-Man’s-Land. There they came across a German raiding party and Frederick Youens and another soldier were wounded by bombs and the patrol was forced to retreat. 13 DLI’s trenches were then heavily shelled and, under cover of the shelling, German soldiers raided the trench held by “C” Company. Frederick Youens was in a dug-out having his wounds dressed, when he was told that German raiders were near. Ignoring his wounds, he ran from the dug-out, forgetting his shirt and jacket, to rally a badly-shaken Lewis machine-gun crew and get them firing at the raiders. A bomb then fell amongst the machine-gunners but failed to explode. Frederick Youens picked up this bomb and threw it back over the trench parapet. Another bomb then landed. Again he picked up the bomb but it exploded in his hand, fatally wounding him.

Frederick Youens died at a nearby Forward Dressing Station and was buried in Railway Dugouts Burial Ground (Transport Farm), Zillebeke, south of Ypres. For his bravery and devotion to duty, Second Lieutenant Youens was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross. On 29 August 1917, his mother went to Buckingham Palace and was presented with her son’s Victoria Cross by King George V.

Where to look for more information about this person:
London Gazette, 2 August 1917: https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30215/supplement/7906

Commonwealth War Graves Commission:
http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/491026/YOUENS,%20FREDERICK

His VC is in the DLI Collection. https://www.dur.ac.uk/library/asc/dlimedals/

http://www.durham.gov.uk/article/7532/Medal-collection

All Saints Church, High Wycombe: http://buckinghamshireremembers.org.uk/memorials/p220.htm

Birth date: 14-Aug-1893

Death date: 7-Jul-1917

Armed force/civilian: Army

Residence: 64, Desborough Park Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.

Education: National School, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.
Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe.

Employment: Assistant school master, St Peter’s School, Rochester.

Family: Son of Vincent & Lizzie Youens, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.

Military service:

1914-16: Private, Royal Army Medical Corps, later 7th (Service) Battalion East Surrey Regiment.
1916: Officer Cadet Battalion.
25 January 1917, commissioned as Second Lieutenant The Durham Light Infantry and posted to 13th (Service) Battalion DLI.

Medal(s): Victoria Cross.

Memorial(s): Railway Dugouts Burial Ground (Transport Farm), Zillebeke, Belgium.
All Saints Church, High Wycombe.

Gender: Male

Contributed by Durham County Record Office


Comments on this story


Comment

As an old boy of the same school, (1975-81), I recall there also being a sizeable plaque commemorating two old boys; Frederick Youens VC and Ian Fraser VC and which occupied 'pride of place' in the reception staircase foyer leading to the Queen's Hall of The Royal Grammar School in High Wycombe. There is also the eponymous Fraser Youens House for boarders at the school.

There are also Youens Road and Fraser Road, both in Booker, High Wycombe, which I believe might have been named after them. Ian Fraser VC was born in Ealing and saw active service in WWII and who passed as recently as 2008, at the age of 87.

Contributed by

Ivan L

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