Frederick McCall (1886-1918)
From Stockton on Tees. Died as a prisoner of war in Germany two days before the Armistice
Born in Stockton Tees in 1886, Frederick McCall was working as a labourer in an iron works, when he enlisted in his local Territorial Force battalion – the 5th Battalion DLI. In October 1915, after training, Private McCall joined the battalion on active service on the Armentieres front.
In late May 1918, the 50th Division, including the 5th Battalion DLI, was in reserve on the River Aisne, in what was thought to be a quiet area. On 27 May, following a bombardment of high explosive and gas shells, German infantry, supported by tanks, launched a massive attack on the Aisne front and the 50th Division was overwhelmed. Hundreds of British soldiers were taken prisoner, including over 450 from the 5th Battalion DLI. Many of whom had been wounded.
Corporal McCall was one of these prisoners. Frederick McCall died at Lamsdorf prisoner of war camp in German Silesia (now Lambinowice in Poland) on 9 November 1918 and was buried near the camp. The cause of his death is unknown but it is possible that Frederick, weakened by wounds and the poor conditions and diet in this camp, caught ‘Spanish flu’.
In the early 1920s, the graves of British and Commonwealth prisoners, who had died in Germany during the war, were concentrated in four large cemeteries. The British prisoners who had died in Lamsdorf camp, including Frederick McCall, were reburied at Stahnsdorf, near Berlin.
For further information:
Commonwealth War Grave Commission: https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/895725/mccall,-/
North East War Memorials Project: http://www.newmp.org.uk/detail.php?contentId=10893
Birth date: 5-Sep-1886
Death date: 9-Nov-1918
Armed force/civilian: Army
Residence: 1911 Census: 15 Waverley Street, Stockton on Tees.
Employment: 1911 Census: Labourer in rolling mill.
Family: 1911 Census: Mother (widow) Frances McCall.
Military service:
Enlisted in Stockton on Tees. 2865 Private McCall (later 200326 Corporal) served in 1/5th Battalion DLI.
Landed in France 3 October 1915.
Made prisoner of war, 27 May 1918, Craonne, Battle of the Aisne.
Medal(s): 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal.
Memorial(s): Buried: Berlin South Western Cemetery Stahnsdorf.
Memorial: Book of Remembrance, Stockton Parish Church.
Gender: Male
Contributed by Durham County Record Office
