Sidney Frank Fletcher

Story:
Sidney Frank Fletcher was born on 21st December, 1892, in Higher Coombe, Shaftesbury, and baptised at Cann Parish Church, Shaftesbury, on 22nd January, 1893. He was the son of William Fletcher, a Gardener, and Charlotte Ann Fletcher (née Watts).  At the time of the 1911 Census he was single, working as a domestic groom and living Little Ridge Stable, Ridge, Chilmark, Wiltshire. He enlisted in Shaftesbury as a Rifleman and joined the 1st Battalion of the Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) (Service No. 6031). He served in France & Flanders and was awarded the Victory, British War and 1915 Star medals. He died on 1st July 1916 and his name appears on the Thiepval Memorial (Pier and Face 16B and 16C). By the end of the war Frank's parents had moved to Glenlyne, 17 Old Boundary Road, Shaftesbury, Dorset. He is remembered on the war memorial at Ludwell.  His brothers, William Henry, Percy Edwin John and Victor Reginald Fletcher, all served but survived the conflict.