Born in the Suffolk town of Leiston, England, in August 1878, Frank Forsdike was
the fourth child of ten, and second son born to William John &
Patience Forsdike.
Growing up variously in a small town terrace house,
a public house (The Crown, Leiston), and on a farm (Peak Hill Farm, Theberton),
Frank, like his father and four brothers, worked at the Garrett Works in
Leiston, and took on the trade of foundry mould maker.
Already part of the 1st Voluntary Battalion, Suffolk Regiment, by 1900,
Frank attested as a Private into the 43rd Suffolk Company, 12th Battalion,
Imperial Yeomanry in February 1901.
Quickly finding himself in the midst of the Boer War in South Africa, Frank was
"severely wounded" at Trenafontein in January 1902. Recovering, Frank was
discharged as Lance Corporal, after the close of the Boer War, in August 1902.
Clearly rural town life was not Frank's lot, and with his younger brother, James, and three friends, Messrs
Easy, Fella, and Denning, he emigrated to Canada in 1908, where he subsequently took work
at the Massey-Harris Works in Toronto.
However, Frank seems to have returned home to Leiston and the family farm in nearby Theberton by 1911,
where he later married local girl, Myrtle Cole. Frank went back to Toronto with his new bride, and in 1913 they
produced a daughter, Florence Gertrude (click on the family image to the right to see a larger version of what
is believed to be a last family portrait taken in 1915 before Frank was sent overseas).
Frank, always a horseman (see Gallery 1st image, for a proud man and his horse),
joined the militia, the 9th Mississauga Horse, and indeed served there alongside friend and later fellow
4CMR man, 109432, Francis Kidd (again, see Gallery, 2nd & 3rd images), in tours of duty with the G.G.B.G.
(Governor Generals' Body Guard).
When "the call" came, and despite what must have been traumatic experiences and memories for him from the Boer War,
Frank seems to have had no hesitation in signing up in 1914. Attested in November 1914 into the 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles
as 109125, Private, Frank was promoted to Lance Corporal in August 1915, and found himself on his way back to the old
homeland on 18th July 1915, when the 4th & 5th CMR and Brigade HQ Staff sailed for England onboard SS Hersperian
(which was torpedoed by a U-boat on its return trip to Canada).
The 4CMR trained at Shorncliff on England's South Downs, and it is possible that Frank visited home in Theberton, Suffolk,
at the time of his parents selling the family farm in early October 1915. The 4CMR was shipped to France on 24th October, 1915,
and were assigned to the Front around Ypres. Frank had by then risen to Corporal, and served his time in the area of Ypres
through the winter of 1915 and into the summer of 1916. Trench life, as for so many, saw Frank in and out of field
hospitals with muscular and joint problems.
However, June 2nd, 1916, saw the opening of a massive German onslaught, which turned into a 14 day engagement
known as the "Battle for Mount Sorrel". Locally it resulted
in the loss of many 4th CMR men & officers on the morning of the 2nd, and some 5,000 Canadian & British
soldiers along that piece of front over the 14 days.
Frank, having survived the initial onslaught, was lost without trace "in the vicinity of Maple Copse" on the 2nd,
suggesting that he was one of the very few able to fall back to the reserve line held by the 5th CMR. However, in
what is reported as having been fierce hand to hand fighting as the CMRs first stemmed then stalled the tide of attacking
troops, he was subsequently lost and his body never recovered. As such, his name now appears on the Menin Gate, Panel
32; alongside 54,000 Commonwealth soldiers who died defending the strategic town between 1914 and 1917, and who
also have no known grave.
When this website was first launched, in early 2006, we knew nothing of what happened to wife Myrtle or daughter
Florence after Frank's loss. It was believed that they may have returned to the UK in 1920, and that at least Florence
may have been traced to South Africa in 1932. However, it came as an emotional surprise when Frank's grandson, Bert Layton,
discovered this website and emailed me on November 11th, 2007 (how poignant), with the wonderful news that Frank's daughter,
Florence, and the family were alive and well and living in Nova Scotia!
Essentially 12 years of my own searching, frustrations and dead-ends came full circle at that moment. Whilst I had dreamed of this
moment and how it would bring closure to me, I wasn't prepared for the fact, in having set out on this quest and actually seen
it to fruition, that I would, with humbling honour, be helping to bring closure to one wonderful lady, Florence, who never knew
her father. In the same breath, for the wider family of grandchildren (Bert, Margie and Helen) and to the great-grandchildren,
I was party to helping them look back at their relative's story, and in so doing say to them that they could be incredibly proud of
him as part of the esteemed Canadian Expeditionary Force, and more so as he was their own flesh and blood.
Very early on in the contact with Frank's grandson, Bert, I stressed the need to initiate the claim for Frank's previously un-issued medals,
as his daughter, now 94, was the only person as immediate next of kin able to do so. This they did, and in the process of getting the medals
suitably mounted, one thing led to another, and before we knew what was going on, a formal presentation of the medals was being heralded.
On May 10th, in Berwick, Nova Scotia, the medals were duly presented in a formal remembrance ceremony, by LCol. Matheson, of the Governor General's
Horse Guards (the regiment that perpetuates the 4CMR today). The event, hosted by The Canadian Legion, Ortona Branch 69, in Berwick,
PR supported by 14 Wing, Greenwood, the Berwick Legion Auxiliary, and Berwick United Church Women, was a moving and emotional celebration of Frank's
life and service, made doubly special by his daughter, Florence, receiving the medals.
Family members made speeches: Bert, Frank's grandson, explained how this extraordinary event came about, Frank's great-grandson, Gunner John Layton (2RCHA)
delivered the 4CMR regimental history, and I spoke of Frank's life and service. The GGHG also presented a copy of their Colors to Florence - a
remarkable step in any circumstances - and Frank's grandchildren, Bert, Margie and Helen, reciprocated with framed pictures of Frank on his horse
being presented to the GGHG, 14 Wing, and Berwick Legion. CBC & CTV ran TV and radio slots on the event, and newspapers from Canadian coast to coast
carried narratives on this most amazing of occasions.
Of specific note following that weekend, we learned that under Resolution 2609, in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly on May 12th, Premier Hon.
Rodney MacDonald moved that "... all members of this House salute the bravery of Cpl. Forsdike over nine decades ago, and commend his daughter and
family for ensuring his memory and well-earned medals have at last found their way home."
A specific webpage will be dedicated to the medals ceremony when many of the images from the day have been gathered. Video of the ceremony will also be
viewable, which has been made available by kind permission of Kirk Starratt, NovaNewsNow.com, © 2008 Transcontinental Mediacredit. A link will be provided
direct from this page as soon as the material has been prepared.
To the Layton family, it has been a joy and pleasure to be part of this event, and little did I know, the best part of 13 years ago now, when I
discovered Frank's name on the War Memorial in Leiston, UK, that it would all lead to this. Honour and respect has been brought to Frank's memory
and to you for his life. Whilst he is gone from us, he has not been forgotten.
Ian Forsdike
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