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Frederick Kirkland was born on the 13th July 1892, when his parents William and Emma were living in Hartsop. His parents had met when they were both servants at Matterdale End in the 1870s. William was an agricultural labourer and the family moved from Patterdale to Hartsop in the 1880s, settling at Beckstones Farm. Fred was  the youngest of 8 children. In September 1896 his father died and was buried in Patterdale, and by 1901 his mother and family were living at Deepdale Bridge, where Fred attended Patterdale School with his elder brother Albert and cousin Percy.

Before the outbreak of was he was employed as a driver of the mail motor bus which Messrs Taylor Motors Ltd ran between Penrith and Patterdale, and may well have been living with his mother who had moved to 25 Duke Street in Penrith.

He enlisted early in the war and arrived in France on 16th July 1915.  We know that at the time of death he was part of the Mechanical Transport Section attached to the 43rd Field Ambulance,  who were attached to the 14th (Light) Division. This would have been quite a specialist role at the time as there was still a great reliance on horse drawn wagons. We sadly know little details of his death, with the Cumberland and Westmorland Herald simply reporting that he

“died on Sunday (31st March 1918) of wounds received during the recent offensive”

He died at No. 9 General Hospital, probably of wounds received during one of the many British counter-attacks following the German’s last ditch Spring Offensive in March 1918 around the Somme. The 14th Division suffered very severe casualties in this battle, losing almost 6,000 troops and the Artillery Brigades lost all of their guns. Fred is buried in the St. Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen, France.  He is commemorated on the Patterdale War Memorial, Glenridding Village Hall Roll of Honour (alongside his older brothers Joseph, who served in the Military Foot Police in France and Albert, who was also a chauffeur before the war and joined the Royal Army Service Corps, serving in Egypt. Also remembered there is his cousin Ernest Kirkland, with whom Frederick grew up at Beckstones.

Other than Albert and Joseph, we do not know what happened to the rest of Fred’s family, including his mother. If you know of any information please contact us.

Private Frederick Kirkland

 M2/104268, 43rd Field Ambulance Royal Army Service Corps

Born 13th July 1892 Hartsop. Died 31st March 1918 Aged 25 in France

Son of William and Emma (nee Woof) Kirkland, of Matterdale, Hartsop, Deepdale Bridge and Penrith

Brother of Joseph and Albert Kirkland.

Fred’s Death as reported in the Cumberland & Westmorland Herald 13th April 1918. In the same edition Richard Hayton from Glenridding’s Obituary was also published, having died 10 days before

Field Ambulances in action in France