| Description | Work completed by volunteer includes the following information:
Frederick Willis was born the 11 Oct 1894, the son of Thomas Joseph Willis, a dental surgeon of North Bar Without, Beverley and Teresa (nee Simpson).
Frederick served in Egypt and France with the 10th Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment after his enlistment in Sep 1914. By Dec 1916 he had attained the rank of Sergeant. He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for conspicuous gallantry following an action on 11 Dec 1916 in which he led a patrol under heavy fire with great courage and determination. Later he rescued a wounded man from "No Man's land" and carried in a man who had been killed. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant on 8 Apr 1917. The Beverley Guardian reported on 11 Jul 1917 that Frederick had been seriously wounded by a gunshot wound to the eye while leading his men into action and was in hospital in France. Second Lieutenant Willis was awarded the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal in addition to the DCM.
His older brother Thomas Joseph also served in the East Yorkshire Regiment, he enlisted in Sep 1914 and had been promoted to Lance Corporal by 1916. Thomas was severely wounded and was discharged because of his wounds in May 1917 and awarded the Silver War Badge.
On demobilisation Frederick studied dentistry at Liverpool University, then practised in Hull. Accepting a commission in the Territorial Force in the 1930s he served with the 4th Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment rising to the rank of brevet Lieutenant Colonel. He served in France in WW2 escaping at Dunkirk. He was subsequently appointed to a post involving troop movements. Lieutenant Colonel Willis died on active service on 26 Aug 1944 and is commemorated on the Brookwood 1939-1945 Memorial in Surrey.
Frederick Willis married Mary Constance Wright in 1927, they had a daughter Christine.
Includes photograph, information taken from census, military records, Commonwealth War Graves, newspapers |