Frederick William Bullock, who was known by his middle name, was born in the spring of 1894 in the small Somerset village of Hillfarrance. His parents were Frederick and Mary, and he was one of eleven children.

Frederick Sr was an agricultural labourer, but William wanted a life of adventure, and, by 1910, he had joined the army. It seems likely that he lied about his age when he enlisted, as he would only have been 16 years of age. Assigned as a Private to the 6th Dragoon Guards (The Carabiniers), he was based in Aldershot, Hampshire. His service records show that he was 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall, had black hair and grey eyes.

Private Bullock’s early years of service were seemingly free of incident but this was to change. On 22md January 1914, his troop were preparing to board ship to sail to Egypt, but William went AWOL. He was apprehended a week later, tried and convicted of desertion. He was imprisoned for 56 days and his previous service with the army was forfeited.

On 16th August, just a fortnight after war was declared, Private Bullock was sent to France. He spent three months on the Western Front before returning to England. In June 1915, he had transferred to the 3rd (Prince of Wales) Dragoon Guards, and was again sent to France.

William remained in France until the end of July 1916, when he fell ill and was medically evacuated to England for treatment. He was initially admitted to the 2nd Southern General Hospital in Bristol with a crumbling spine, but then transferred to the 2nd Western General Hospital in Manchester for more specialist treatment.

The condition, while not aggravated by his military service, was enough to have him medically discharged because of it. Private Bullock left the army on 28th July 1917.

At this point, William’s trail goes cold. What can be confirmed is that he passed away on 24th September 1918, at the age of 24 years old. He was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Giles’ Church in Bradford-on-Tone, a village not far from his birthplace, where his family now lived.

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