Arthur Henry “Harry” Frampton was born in 1882, the oldest of six children to Henry and Alice. Henry Sr worked as a clerk and cashier in a shoe factory in Bridgwater, while Harry and his brothers also initially followed that line of work.

In the autumn of 1908, Harry married Emma Jane Lee, who was originally from Crediton in Devon. The couple went on to have two children, Rose and John, and, by the time of the next census, the family were living in a small house in the middle of Bridgwater. Harry, by this time, was working as a general labourer.

War broke out, and Harry was quick to enlist. Initially assigned to the Somerset Light Infantry in December 1914, Private Frampton was transferred to the Royal Defence Corps after two years’ service.

He was part of the army’s territorial force, and it seems likely that his transfer to the RDC may have been on medical grounds. He had been admitted to Castlemount Military Hospital (in Dover) a couple of times, suffering from “rheumatism and debility”.

Private Frampton’s later medical report stated that he was a frail man, with an accentuated heartbeat, which gave rise to fainting. He had no appetite and suffered from insomnia, and, according to the report, was “quite unfit to perform the duties of a soldier”.

Ultimately, this led to Harry being medically discharged from the army, and he was demobbed on 10th March 1917, after just over two years’ service.

Little is known about Harry after his discharge form the army. His pension record confirms that he passed away on 26th October 1919, having suffered from dyspepsia (indigestion) and debility. He was 37 years old.

Harry Frampton lies at rest in the St John’s Cemetery in his home town of Bridgwater, Somerset.

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