Frederick John Major was born in the spring of 1882, the oldest of seven children to John and Eliza Major. John was a farm labourer and he and Eliza – who was 20 years his junior – raised their family in the Dorset village of Batcombe.

John passed away in 1900, when Frederick was just 18 years old. He was already working as a carter, and continued to live with his mother, helping support her financially, along with his brother and sister.

With war on the horizon, Frederick was keen to do his part. He enlisted in the Somerset Light Infantry, and was assigned to the 9th Battalion as a Private. This was a service battalion based in Plymouth, and it is unlikely, therefore, that Private Major saw any active service overseas.

Sadly, Fredrick’s time in the army was to be short. He passed away in Somerset on 11th January 1915, aged just 33 years old. No evidence of the cause of his death is documented.

Frederick John Major was laid to rest in Yeovil Cemetery, in the town in which he died.

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