386th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery
Frank George Teal was born at Wiggold, Cirencester in the first quarter of 1898. His parents were George and Elizabeth Ann Teal. George Teal was a groom on a farm and the 1911 Census records the family (which included three children, Frank being the youngest) living at 63 Wiggold. It is likely that this was a ‘tied property’ linked to the farm
Frank attested for military service at Cirencester in May 1916, stating his residence to be Scrubditch Cottage, North Cerney, his age 18 years three months and his occupation an ‘under carter’. He was taken into the Army Reserve on 28 July 1916 and joined No 3 Depot, Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) on 2 October 1916. His Service Record has partly survived the enemy action of 1940 and this details movement through various artillery companies, including RGA Queenstown (now Cobh) in Ireland on 14 October 1916 and the Irish Command Siege Depot on 1 December 1916. He ended up with 386th Siege Battery on 9 May 1917.
He died from tuberculosis and meningitis at Eastern General Hospital, Brighton on 12 June 1917, aged 19, having served 201 days in the Army, all of which were within Great Britain and Ireland.
His grave in Baunton (St Mary Magdalene) Churchyard is marked by a private headstone.
This also commemorates his brother, Henry Thomas Teal, who was killed in action in France on 19 August 1917, age 24. M2/190042 Private Henry Thomas Teal served with 406th Mechanical Transport, Army Service Corps (attached to ll Corps Heavy Artillery) and is buried at Reninghelst New Military Cemetery, near Ypres.
When the CWGC Register was compiled their parents were living at 10 Cheltenham Road, Stratton, Cirencester.
Researched by Graham Adams 13 February 2015