Service in Egypt, Sudan and South Africa.

Queen's South Africa Medal with Clasps "Transvaal" and "South Africa 1902".

3631 Pte. R. Frost, Lincolnshire Regiment.

 

Thomas Edward Frost, a shipwright, and Betsy Crisp were married in Grimsby in 1873. Two years later, on 21st April 1875, they baptised their son, Robert Christopher Frost, in the parish church of St Andrew, Great Grimsby. By the time of the 1891 Census, the family were living at 1 Back Foundry Lane, Grimsby, and Robert is recorded as a 15 year old labourer.

On 17th July 1893, Robert enlisted in the Lincolnshire Regiment, agreeing to serve 7 years with the Colours and 5 years in the Reserve. He had already served some time in the 3rd Lincolnshire Militia and must have decided that life in the army would be better than working as a general labourer. His Attestation Papers describe him as 18 years and 4 months old, with a fair fresh complexion, brown hair and blue hazel eyes. His religion was Church of England. His father, Thomas, is noted as his next of kin although by 1901 he would be an inmate of the county asylum at Bracebridge, near Lincoln.

 

On 21st August 1893, Robert transferred from the Depot to the 1st Battalion. His first spell of foreign service came in 1895 when the 1st Battalion was sent to Malta for two years. It was here, in July 1895, that Robert was awarded his 1st Good Conduct Pay. On 3rd February 1897, the Lincolns left Malta for Egypt, where they would take part in the reconquest of the Sudan. Robert Frost took part in the Atbara Campaign and the Expedition to Khartoum in 1898. He would have been present at the Battle of Omdurman on 2nd September 1898. For his service in Egypt and the Sudan, he was awarded the Queen's Sudan Medal and the Khedive's Sudan Medal with clasps "The Atbara" and "Khartoum".

 

The 1st Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment left Egypt in October 1898 and sailed for India, where they were stationed in Bangalore. Robert Frost was awarded his 2nd Good Conduct Pay here and in February 1902 was transferred to the 2nd Battalion and sent to join them in South Africa. He would serve 202 days in South Africa during the final stages of the Boer War, thus earning entitlement to the Queen's South Africa Medal featured here.

 

Robert Frost returned to England in September 1902 and transferred to the Army Reserve in December. He was finally discharged from the Reserve on 16th July 1905, having served a total of 12 years. He married soon after this and the 1911 Census records him as working as a bricklayer and living at 26 Guildford Street, Grimsby, with his wife Mary Jane and 4 year old daughter Florence Jennie. In 1913, the couple had a son, Thomas Edward - named after his grandfather. Sadly, this boy came to a tragic end at the age of 13, when, on 29th August 1926, he accidentally hanged himself in his bedroom.  Newspaper reports at the time reported the inquest's verdict of death from misadventure, concluding that the boy had been imitating a scene he had seen at the pictures. It is not known whether Robert Frost served again in the First World War. There was a Robert C. Frost who was awarded a British War Medal and Victory Medal for service in the Army Service Corps but it is uncertain whether this was the same man.

 

Robert Frost later worked as a boiler fitter and died at the age of 61 on 6th February 1937. Like his young son, he is buried in Scartho Road Cemetery, Grimsby. According to the 1939 Register, Mary Jane Frost and her daughter Florence were still living in 26 Guildford Street just before the Second World War.

With The 1st Lincolns In The Sudan.

Queen's Sudan Medal.
Khedive's Sudan Medal 1896 - 1908 with clasps "The Atbara" & "Khartoum".
2763 Pte. G. Brown, Lincolnshire Regiment.

George Brown was born in Spitalfields around 1873. On 2nd June 1891, at the age of 18, he decided to enlist in the Lincolnshire Regiment, agreeing to serve for seven years with the Colours and five years in the Reserve. His Attestation Papers give his religion as Roman Catholic, his occupation as a printers labourer and describe him as just over 5' 5" in height, weighing 128lbs and with a fair complexion, blue eyes and brown hair. He also had scars on the top of his head and the back of his neck.
After initial training in England, George was posted to the 2nd Battalion of the Lincolns, with whom he served over two years in the Straits Settlements. During this time, he was tried and imprisoned for ten days with hard labour - but his surviving Service Papers give no indication of what his offence might have been. In February 1895, the 1st Lincolns had arrived in Malta. Two months later, the "Jumna", carrying the 2nd Lincolns home from the Far East, arrived in Valetta harbour and the two Battalions thus came into contact after a long separation. About 375 men of the 2nd Battalion, including George Brown, were transferred into the 1st Battalion. George was to stay in Malta for the next two years, during which time he was granted his 1st Good Conduct Pay.
In February 1897, the 1st Lincolns took ship for Egypt. The following year, despite being under orders to proceed to India, the Battalion was ordered to proceed up the Nile as part of General Sir Herbert Kitchener's expedition to reconquer the Sudan and avenge the death of General Gordon at Khartoum. On 7th January, the Battalion left Cairo, travelling south via Assouan, Wady Halfa and Abu Hamed to Gurheish, where they stayed till February 13th. They next proceeded to Abu Dis and then Berber. From here the journey was trying; marches had to be done over rocky ground, and usually at night to avoid the heat of the day. Nevertheless the troops managed to cover 140 miles in six days. In the first week of April, a reconnaissance party located the Dervish camp, fortified with trenches and ringed by a thorn-bush zareba, on the right bank of the Atbara, a tributary of the Nile. On the morning of April 8th, the Battle of the Atbara was fought as Kitchener's troops advanced and captured the Dervish position, the Lincolns losing 1 man killed and 16 wounded.
In August, after four months in summer quarters awaiting reinforcements, Kitchener was ready to continue the advance to Khartoum. The final battle of the campaign was fought at Omdurman on 2nd September 1898 and again the 1st Lincolnshire Regiment were present and had 18 men wounded. For his participation in the campaign, George Brown received the Queen's Sudan and Khedive's Sudan Medals.
George returned to England in October 1898 and was transferred to the Army Reserve. Just over a year later, on 28th December 1899, he was recalled to the Colours and sent out to join the 2nd Lincolns in South Africa, where he served for over two and a half years. He was awarded his 2nd Good Conduct Pay in June 1900. For service in the Boer War, he received the Queen's South Africa Medal with clasps, the present whereabouts of which are unknown. George returned to England in August 1902 and was discharged from the army on 1st June 1903. In July 1903, he enlisted in Section D of the Army Reserve for four years. Reservists were paid 3 shillings and 6 pence a week and had to attend twelve training days per year. He was finally discharged from all military obligations on 27th July 1907. His Discharge Papers describe his military character as "good" and give his home address as 3 Gales Gardens, Bethnal Green. The picture below shows this street in 1923. It is not known whether George Brown served in the First World War.