Page 36 - Sylvia Malt - Side by Side

Sgt. Frank BALLARD, 2nd Battalion, West Yorkshire Regt (Prince of Wales
Own) 1890 - 4th March 1917

Regular soldier, Frank Ballard, was the fourth of nine sons of Charles Ballard and his wife,
Annie whose home was Pretoria Cottages, North Cray. Frank was a sergeant in the 2nd
Battalion, West Yorkshire Regt (Prince of Wales Own) and when war was declared the
Regiment was stationed in Malta. They soon returned to England, disembarking at
Southampton on 25th September 1914 and by November orders were received to make
their way to France. The Regiment, anxious to get involved with the war effort, landed at Le
Havre on 5th November 1914.

Frank’s Regiment took part in a substantial number of battles, including at least two of the
notorious Battles of the Somme - the Battle of Thiepval (from September 1916) shortly
followed by the Battle of Morval. Attacks north and east continued throughout October and
into November during increasingly difficult weather conditions. With the onset of winter,
the Battle of the Somme finally ended on 18th November 1916.

1917 was the year in which war-weariness took a firm hold on the peoples of the combatant
nations. No one now believed the war would be over quickly or that it was in any way
glorious. Frank Ballard gained promotion to the rank of Sergeant but was tragically killed
on 4th March 1917. His Company Sergeant-Major, F.I. Welstead, wrote to Frank’s mother in
North Cray:

“It is with deepest regret that I have to write to tell you that Sgt Frank Ballard was killed in
action on 4th March. He was my best NCO (non-commissioned officer).

He was always ready for any dangerous work and was always so very cheerful under all
circumstances. Frank was much respected by all our officers. I expect you remember
Frank speaking of me, as my home is at Chislehurst. If there is anything you would like to
know, please write, as I will do anything I possibly can for you.”

In Memoriam - The exact burial place of Frank Ballard is not recorded but his name is
commemorated on Thiepval Memorial, Belgium.

Six of Frank’s brothers also served during the First World War in France, Egypt, India and
England. As far as is known, all of them survived.

Rifleman Percy Edmund BELLINGHAM - 12th (Service) Battalion, Rifle
Brigade

1889 - 31st August 1916

On 30th October 1914, just a few months after the outbreak of War, North Cray farm
foreman’s daughter, Mary Rosina Wickham, left her father’s home in Manor Cottages to
walk down the aisle of St. James Church to marry 25-year-old Percy Edmund Bellingham
who worked as a gardener at Dartford Metropolitan Assylum and Stone Park in Greenhithe.
The newly married couple set up home in Greenhithe, Kent.

Although Percy had been in the Army Territorial Force for over three years, being newly
married he was in no hurry to fully enlist. But feeling pressure to do the right thing for his
country, Percy eventually travelled down to the Woolwich Recruiting Office on 26th April
1916 and was assigned the 12th (Service) Battalion, the Rifle Brigade.

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