SERJEANT FRANK JAMES WHERRETT
LONDON REGIMENT (QUEEN'S WESTMINSTER RIFLES)
15TH JUNE 1918 AGE 20
BURIED: DAINVILLE BRITISH CEMETERY, FRANCE
Frank Wherrett was born between July and September 1897. From the evidence of his medal roll, he arrived in France on 2 September 1915. I would suggest that he had just turned 18. He was, as his inscription suggests, a volunteer. He was also too young to be in France - unless he'd had his parents' signed consent. It would seem that he did. Within less than three years he was a serjeant - obviously an excellent soldier. But before three years was actually up he was dead.
His father, Frank Wherrett, a builder of 77 Chester Terrace, London, chose Serjeant Wherrett's inscription. I have decided to look again at inscriptions which state the cause for which people died, in particular those that use 'big' words. I used to think that these inscriptions were mere hyperbole, the next-of-kin attempting to match the cause with their grief in an attempt to make the deaths worthwhile. But if 2016 has taught me anything it's that these 'big' words are very powerful and that whilst the exact meaning might be unspecific, people believed these concepts were worth fighting and dying for - honour, truth and right. After all, the next-of-kin memorial plaque stated - "He died for freedom and honour".