5063 Sgt. F. O. Blanchard, 15th London Regiment (Civil Service Rifles).
Frederick Oxley Blanchard was born in 1894 and in 1915 he was living at 94 Hemingford Road, Barnsbury and working as a shop assistant. He enlisted in the 15th London Regiment for the
duration of the war at Somerset House on 2nd September 1915. His surviving Attestation Papers state that he was 21
years 8 months old, 5’ 7” tall, and weighed 9st 4lbs. His actual army service was reckoned from 2nd December 1915 when he joined the Reserve Battalion of the 3/15th Londons.
After a period of basic training, Frederick embarked for the Western Front, sailing from Southampton on 20th June 1916, passing through the Base Depot and finally joining the 1/15th Londons in the field on 7th July 1916. At the end of July the Civil Service Rifles marched out of the pleasant village of Camblain l'Abbe and began the long march to the Somme sector.
It can be assumed that Frederick went through the later part of the Somme campaign, taking part in the attacks on High Wood on 15th September and the Butte de Warlencourt on 7th October, in which the Battalion suffered terrible casualties. Frederick seems to have been an efficient soldier as he was appointed unpaid Lance Corporal on 25th September, and promoted Corporal three days later.
Christmas Day 1916 was spent in the trenches but the men were in good
spirits, having carried out a successful trench raid two days
previously. Frederick was working on moving sandbags
when he suffered an inguinal hernia that resulted in him being sent to
the 2nd Canadian Casualty Clearing Station on 6th January 1917 and
eventually back to England in early February. He spent time in hospitals
in Norwich and Eastbourne before being sent to join the Reserve Battalion at Wimbledon.
Further advancement followed as he was appointed paid Acting Lance Sergeant on 18th July and promoted Acting Sergeant on 17th September. In June 1918, however, Frederick was reverted to the rank of Corporal by his C.O. because of neglect of duty. Unfortunately, his surviving service records do not give any details of what form this neglect took.
In November 1918, Frederick once again found himself with the 1/15th London Regiment in France. The fighting was over and time was spent on playing sports and attending concerts and theatrical revues. According to the Regimental History: "After a really merry Christmas, the Battalion began to melt away. Demobilisation began in earnest with the New Year, and parties of twenty-five or thirty left for England almost daily." Frederick was promoted back to paid Acting Sergeant on 7th February 1919 and shortly after it was his turn to leave for England.
Frederick Oxley Blanchard
was finally discharged from the army on 20th March 1919 after serving a total
of 3 years and 110 days. His intended place of residence was back in Hemingford
Road. On 17th July 1920, Frederick
married Eva Constance Stocker at St Anne’s church, Tollington Park,
Islington. In September 1921, he signed Army Form B.5112, acknowledging receipt
of his British War Medal and Victory Medal.The whereabouts of the former are
unknown and, interestingly, the rank on the latter appears to have been
corrected to read "Sgt" despite the fact that Corporal was the
highest rank he achieved while on active service during the war.
In
the 1930s, Frederick and his wife moved to "Rose Cottage", Chequers
Lane, Preston, Hitchin. There is a lot of
information about their later life here.
Frederick Oxley Blanchard passed away on 24th February 1979, leaving an estate
of £29,934.
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