Frank Lester VC (18 February 1896 – 12 October 1918) was an English soldier in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy awarded to

British Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

forces.

Life

Lester was born on 18 February 1896 in

Huyton Huyton ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. Part of the Liverpool Urban Area, it borders the Liverpool suburbs of Dovecot, Knotty Ash and Belle Vale, and the neighbouring village of Roby, with which it f ...

, near

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, to John and Ellen Lester,Lester, Frank
Commonwealth War Graves Commission Prior to becoming a soldier, he was the

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

at the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

chapel in

Irby Irby may refer to: * Irby (surname), a list of people * Irby, Merseyside, England, a village * Irby, Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community * Irby, Washington, United States, an unincorporated community * Irby in the Marsh, Lincol ...

. He enlisted in the army in March 1916 and was posted to the 10th Battalion of the

South Lancashire Regiment The South Lancashire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment, which recruited, as its title suggests, primarily from the South Lancashire area, was created as part of the Childers Ref ...

. He was soon promoted to the rank of Sergeant Instructor, training recruits at

Prees Heath Prees () is a village and civil parish in north Shropshire, near the border between England and Wales. Its name is Celtic and means "brushwood". Prees civil parish The civil parish includes many other villages and hamlets as well as the namesake ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

and Kinmel Park, North Wales. In June 1917 he was transferred at his own request to the

Lancashire Fusiliers The Lancashire Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that saw distinguished service through many years and wars, including the Second Boer War, the First and Second World Wars, and had many different titles throughout its 28 ...

and in December that year he was drafted to France with the 10th Battalion of that regiment. In going overseas he relinquished the rank of Sergeant Instructor and reverted to Private. In the winter of 1918, now promoted to corporal, Lester was wounded during the massive German offensive and was sent to

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

for treatment. On leaving hospital he returned to England to await another posting. After some leave he was sent to

Cromer Cromer ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk. It is north of Norwich, north-northeast of London and east of Sheringham on the North Sea coastline. The local government authorities are Nor ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

and in September was sent back to the front in France.

Victoria Cross

Lester was part of the British offensive which was steadily pushing the German front line back. They encountered stiff resistance, the Germans were determined to prevent a rout of the "impregnable"

Hindenburg Line The Hindenburg Line (German: , Siegfried Position) was a German defensive position built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front during the First World War. The line ran from Arras to Laffaux, near Soissons on the Aisne. In 191 ...

and fighting for survival. It was 12 October 1918, in driving rain and sleet, that the 22 year-old

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...

in the 10th Battalion, The Lancashire Fusiliers performed a deed for which he was awarded the VC.

Legacy

He is at buried in row B, grave 15 in

Neuvilly Neuvilly is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry French sartorial heritage The city was a pivotal center of mulquinerie. People Frank Lester is buried there. See also *Communes of the Nord department The followin ...

Communal Cemetery Extension, France, located three miles north of Le Cateau. He is also commemorated on the family memorial in the graveyard of the former Holy Trinity Church, Wirral, and on the War Memorial in the graveyard of St Bartholomew's Church, Thurstaston. His VC is on display in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery at the

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

, London.

References

Monuments to Courage David Charles Harvey (29 July 1946 – 4 March 2004) was a historian and author. He is notable for his seminal work, ''Monuments To Courage'', which documents the graves of almost all recipients of the Victoria Cross, a task that took him over 36 ...

(David Harvey, 1999) *

The Register of the Victoria Cross ''The Register of the Victoria Cross'' is a reference work that provides brief information on every Victoria Cross awarded until the publication date. Each entry provides a summary of the deed, along with a photograph of the recipient and the fol ...

(This England, 1997) *

VCs of the First World War - The Final Days 1918 ''VCs of the First World War'' is a series of books that list the Victoria Cross recipients of the First World War. The series consists of 13 books written by four different authors, first published under the label Sutton Publishing Limited, part ...

(Gerald Gliddon, 2000) *''Liverpool VCs'' (James Murphy, Pen and Sword Books, 2008)

External links

Burial location of Frank Lester
"France"

"Frank Lester's Victoria Cross sold at auction" {{DEFAULTSORT:Lester, Frank 1896 births 1918 deaths British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross Lancashire Fusiliers soldiers British military personnel killed in World War I British Army personnel of World War I Victoria Cross awardees from Liverpool South Lancashire Regiment soldiers British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross People from Huyton