Frank Emmet (1897-1917)
Gateshead man served with the 9th DLI killed at Arras
Frank Emmet was born sometime in the year 1897 to William and Bridget Emmet, who resided at Gateshead. Frank had two sisters; Catherine and Sarah, as well as two brothers, John and Robert. He worked as an errand boy whilst he and his family lived at 392 High Street, Gateshead in 1911.
He enlisted in the army at Gateshead and joined the 9th Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry (DLI) as a private, around the time of his 18th birthday. The Battalion had been made combat ready with the rest of the 50th Division that it was attached to.
After Ypres, 9 DLI was posted to trench duty around the northern trench lines where they received constant attack from the Germans, taking attrition over time. After this the Battalion were moved to the Somme, where huge loses were taken attacking the German defensive positions on the Butte de Warlencourt. The mud and the rain made it difficult to attack the mound, but 9 DLI managed to take the position, only to lose it again in a German counterattack which cost 9 DLI over 300 casualties.
At the this point in the war Frank would have been a veteran of a number of the most deadly battles in history where many of his fellows would have fallen, this experience elevated him to the rank of Lance Corporal.
In April 1917, 9 DLI were moved to the battlefield at Arras where the British were planning to assault the German trench lines there in an effort to force the German army to retreat. The Battalion was deployed to the south of the battlefield, near the Cojeul river, where they were ordered to take the ground around the village of Wancourt. It appears that Frank was killed in the fighting there.
For his service he received the Victory Medal, British War Medal and 1915 Star, he is memorialised at the Arras memorial in France.
Civil Parish: Gateshead
Birth date: 1897
Death date: 13-Apr-1917
Armed force/civilian: Army
Residence: 392 High Street, Gateshead (1911 Census)
Employment: Errand Boy
Family: Father: William Emmet
Mother: Bridget Emmet
Sisters: Catherine Emmet, Sarah Ellen Emmet
Brothers: John Emmet, Robert Emmet
Military service:
1st/9th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry
Regimental Number: 325390
Private, Lance Corporal
Enlisted: Gateshead-on-tyne
Deployed: France, 30 October 1915
Medal(s): Victory Medal
British War Medal
1915 Star Medal
Memorial(s): Arras Memorial Bay 8
Gateshead Central Library, Prince Consort Road, Gateshead, Roll of Honour
Gender: Male
Contributed by Daniel Hyatt