Page 33 - Sylvia Malt - Side by Side v1

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Frank BALLARD, 2 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
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whose home was Pretoria Cottages, North Cray. Frank was a sergeant in the 2 Battalion, West
Yorkshire Regt (Prince of Wales Own) and when war was declared the Regiment was stationed in
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Malta. They soon returned to England, disembarking at Southampton on 25 September 1914 and by
November orders were received to make their way to France. The Regiment, anxious to get involved
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with the war effort, landed at Le Havre on 5 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
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ended on 18 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
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gained promotion to the rank of Sergeant but was tragically killed on 4 March 1917. His Company
Sergeant-Major, F.I. Welstead, wrote to Frank’s mother in North Cray:

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“It is with deepest regret that I have to write to tell you that Sgt Frank Ballard was killed in action on 4
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.

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Percy Edmund BELLINGHAM - 12 (Service) Battalion, Rifle Brigade
321888-31st August 1916

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 26-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 by his country, Percy
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eventually travelled down to the Woolwich Recruiting Office on 26 April 1916 and was assigned the
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12 (Service) Battalion, the Rifle Brigade.