Francis (a.k.a. John Francis) Campbell (a.k.a. Clarke)

Rank:	Corporal
Street:
Townland:
Town/Village:	Longford
Civil Parish:	Templemichael
Catholic Parish:	Templemichael
Country:
Alternative Address:	16 Henrietta Street, Dublin; 14 Juno St, Wavertree Rd, Liverpool; 42 Kingswood Ave, St Vital, Manitoba, Canada
Census 1901:
Census 1911:
Regiment/Unit:	Connaught Rangers, 2nd Battalion; Rifle Brigade 6th Battalion
Regiment Number:	7745
Date of Death:
Cause:	Survived WW1
Memorial:	Unknown
Information:	John Francis Clarke served under the name Francis Campbell He was born in Longford c. 1882 and was a member of the 6th Battalion, Rifle Brigade before enlisting in the Connaught Rangers in Feb 1903, serving in India from 1904 to 1911. He remained in the army until 1911 when he entered the Special Reserve. During his time in the army he acquired a Certificate of Education in Aug 1907. When the Great War was declared, Francis departed with the 2nd Battallion from Aldershot on 12 Aug 1914 for Bologne, France. At around 8pm on 26 Aug 1914, he was wounded as a result of a gun shot wound to the mouth and left shoulder and taken prisoner to Limburg in Germany, where he remained for just over 13 months. He was returned to the UK in October 1915 as an exchanged prisoner due to illness, having first been treated at London General Hospital (Royal Victoria) in October 1915 and transferred to Tipperary in December 1915. Subsequently he was discharged from the army in 1916, due to lack of fitness despite being willing to continue fighting. Francis received the following medals: 1914 Star, British War Medal and the Victory Medal, as well as the Silver War Badge. Francis was called up as a reservist, and was part of the force known as 'the Old Contemptibles'. After WW1 he emigrated to Canada and joined the Old Contemptibles Association there. In 1932 he applied to receive the Mons Bar and Rosette in recognition of his service.
Parents Names:	Son of Thomas Campbell (or Clarke), Barrack Street, Mullingar
Notes:	Francis claimed to have been made a Corporal in the field, by a captain who died in action the very same day Campbell was wounded and taken prisoner. Lance Corporal M. McGrath of the same battalion was witness. However prior to the prisoner exchange Francis removed his stripes to be represented as a private soldier, a decision which may well have saved his life given the severity of his illness. The notification of Francis Campbell's hospitalisation in London was sent to Miss/Mrs M E Clarke, 18 Middle Gardiner Street, Dublin, close to his father's Henrietta Street address in 1915.
Links:	Link to Red Cross Prisoner of War records; British Army Attestment and Service Record (ancestry.co.uk); Silver War Badge entry describing injury and internment (ancestry.co.uk, subscription site. Accessible in Longford Library)