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A Soldier of the Border Regiment
Remembered with Honour
3rd Border Regiment Roll of Honour
| Full Name | George Froude Hamlett |
| Rank (highest) | 2nd Lieutenant |
| Battalion | 3rd Border Regiment |
| Enlisted / Commissioned | 10 January 1916 [1] |
| Transferred | To 1st Border Regiment |
| Theatre(s) of War | France and Flanders |
| Born | 1896 |
| Nationality | English 
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| Education | Rossall, Fleetwood, Lancashire |
| Former Employment | Messrs. G. Hamlett and Sons, Ltd. / Salt Manufacturers |
| Parents | F. G. Hamlett / Summer Hill, Winsford, Cheshire |
| Sibling(s) | One of four brothers and the only one not to have survived the war Major H.W. Hamlett / 2nd Lieut. W.A. Hamlett / 2nd Lieut. R.W. Hamlett |
| Casualty Type | Commonwealth War Dead |
| Died | 13 August 1917 [2] |
| Age | 21 Years |
| Cause of Death | Killed in action by shellfire and a shrapnel wound to the head |
| Burial Type | Memorial |
| Reference Number | Panel 35 |
| Resting Place | Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial Commemorated in perpetuity by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission |
| Coordinates |  Latitude: 50.85202 / Longitude: 2.89108
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| Additional Memorial(s) | Winsford Great War Memorial Rossall School Chapel WW1 |
| Commemorative Scroll | Yes / click here |
| Biography George Froude Hamlett was commissioned (Gazetted) on 10 January 1916 into the Border Regiment as a 2nd Lieutenant. Prior to this he was Private 7671 in the Officer Training Corps.[3] His initial posting was with the 3rd Battalion. In January 1917 he joined A Company of 1st Border Regiment: His Company Commanding Officer, Captain Adam Fulton, states: "We spent the last night together before proceeding, as reinforcements, to join the 1st Battalion, The Border Regiment on the French Front. We were both posted to "A" company, then under Captain Bunting, and we were together there until he met his death, about eight months later. It happened when I had been in command of the company about a month. We had taken up position in the dark for an attack in the morning when Hamlett was hit in a burst of heavy shell fire by the Germans. When I was informed I went to investigate and found him dead from shrapnel wound in the head.[4] A few minutes later I was also hit by shrapnel and had to be carried off."[5] An unknown newspaper carried the following article: Prior to this the parents had received a telegram stating that their son was wounded, but the first intimation of his fate came to hand on Friday morning in a letter from a fellow officer, Second-Lieutenant A. Fulton, who was himself wounded. This letter, dated August 14th, was written in a hospital abroad, and read: - "You will have heard the awfully sad news by this time. I can only send my heartfelt sympathy. Froude was my best friend in the regiment, and I can in a way understand the loss you have sustained. I have been with him all the time, even to the last, and I saw him half an hour before he was hit. When the news came to the company headquarters, I immediately rushed up to find what had happened. He was unconscious then, and continued so; then I was wounded myself. He passed away just as he reached the first-aid post." Second-Lieutenant Hamlett, who was 20 years of age, and would have attained his majority on October 1st, was the son of Mr. F.G. Hamlett, a member of the firm Messrs. G. Hamlett and Sons, Ltd., salt manufacturers. He was educated at Rossall, Fleetwood, where he made good progress with his studies. He specialized in chemistry, and it was his idea to ultimately take up dentistry as a profession. For a time he continued his studies under Rev. J. Dobbs, and proved a very apt pupil. When he came of military age he was preparing for his examination in connection with the Pharmaceutical Society, the fees for which had in fact been paid; but he was unable to go through with it. He was very popular amongst his fellow-cadets at Rossall, and excelled in sports, particularly foot racing and shooting, winning a coveted place in the "shooting eight." He was also very fond of motoring. He joined the Inns of Court O.T.C., and afterwards went into training at Lichfield. It was in November, 1915, that he first joined the Colours, and a little over 12 months later he obtained his commission in the Border Regiment, and proceeded to Barrow-in-Furness. Three weeks afterwards, in January of this year, he was on his way to the front. In July he had a ten days’ leave, having in the interim seen some severe fighting. He had been twice "over the top." Second-Lieutenant Hamlett is one of four soldier brothers, the oldest of whom is Major H.W. Hamlett, who is second in command of the aerial defences of North Yorkshire, and has been specially mentioned for valuable services rendered in connection with the war. Another brother, Second-Lieutenant W.A. Hamlett, is at the front, and a third, Second-Lieutenant R.W. Hamlett, has been invalided home from the front. He has been in Manchester hospital for some weeks." | |
| References and Notes See notes and definitions for primary source material and further information.
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