Day 1026. Hull Pals Memorial Post. PRIVATE FREDERICK ASPINALL 40771. Born in Doncaster in October 1898, Frederick was the eldest of five children to Frank and Maud Aspinall of 13 Bubwith Road, Brightside, Sheffield. His father worked in an armaments factory making naval guns. I wonder if this made him proud to see his son off to war, or fearful that his flesh and blood might end up on the receiving end of a shell fired from the sort of weapon he spent his working hours building. Frederick joined the 11th Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment, 2nd Hull Pals, and fought at Armentieres holding up the German Spring Offensive at such a human cost. I suppose the manner of his death is both tragic and ironic given that it looks likely to have been at the hands of British artillery and British shells. He was killed in action on 28th June 1918 and his body was never recovered. Frederick Aspinall is commemorated on the Ploegsteert Memorial; he was 19 years old.
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 20:26:42 +0000