Frank Foster

Guardsman Frank Foster – Welsh Guards, 1^st Battalion

Early Life

The first burial of 1917 at Danygraig Cemetery was that of Frank Foster, who died on 17^th January 1917, aged 22.

Frank was born in 1894 at Walthamstow, Essex, the son of Henry Foster and Ann Boyes. The only census record to list him is the 1901 Census, when the Foster family were living at 11 Wellington Road, Walthamstow.

1901 Census

Henry, then 44, worked as a glass cutter, an occupation shared by several of his sons. His wife, Ann, was also 44. Their children were William, 25; John, 19; and George, 19, all employed as glass cutters like their father. Harry, 17, worked as a grocer’s boy, while the younger children were Mary, 15; Walter, 11; Frank, 7; Annie, 4; and Edith, 1.

By the time of Frank’s death in 1917, the family had moved to 27 Kinley Street, Swansea.

Military Service

Frank enlisted with the Welsh Guards in early 1916 and was posted to the 1^st Battalion. He was later sent to the Western Front, where he endured the horrors of trench warfare.

Herald of Wales

While serving in France, he was wounded and gassed, and though initially evacuated for treatment, his condition worsened. After being removed from a hospital in France, he was transferred to Cardiff Hospital, where, for a time, he appeared to be recovering. However, his health declined, and he died in January 1917.

Burial

Frank Foster’s funeral was reported in the Herald of Wales. His body was returned to Swansea and interred at Danygraig Cemetery with full military honours, marking the first wartime burial of 1917.

The coffin, draped in the Union Jack, was carried by a military party, accompanied by comrades and mourners from the community. A firing party discharged volleys over the grave, and the solemn notes of the “Last Post” echoed across the cemetery, symbolising his final farewell. Family members, friends, and local representatives gathered in attendance, reflecting both private grief and public recognition of his service.

Fank Foster
Danygraig Cemetery
credit - findagrave

His grave joined the growing rows of servicemen at Danygraig, linking his memory with that of countless others who gave their lives during the Great War.

Family Losses and Legacy

Frank’s older brother, William Foster, had died in October 1914, though his death was not connected to the war. For Henry and Ann Foster, however, the loss of two sons within just a few years was a heavy burden to bear.

In the years following Frank’s death, the family chose to emigrate to Ontario, Canada, carrying with them both their grief and the enduring memory of their loved ones.

Reflective Legacy

Frank’s burial, as the first of 1917, followed closely on from William Bowling, the last burial of 1916. Together, their graves mark the unbroken line of loss carried year by year at Danygraig Cemetery, each stone a reminder that the war’s toll did not ease with the turning of the calendar.