Francis John Dyer served in the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) as a Lance-corporal with the East Kent regiment (the \u2018Buffs\u2019).<\/p>\n
His father had been a Royal Marine and married Francis\u2019 mother, Mary Millman, who was also from Devon, in 1889.\u00a0 Francis, their second son, was born in the Stonehouse Barracks<\/a>, Plymouth on 11 July 1893.<\/p>\n By 1911 the family had moved to Chatham.\u00a0 His father now worked as a labourer.\u00a0 Francis\u2019 youngest brother was aged 4 and had been born in Stonehouse Barracks, so the move to the Medway towns must have taken place after the younger boy\u2019s birth.<\/p>\n In 1911 Francis lived, aged 18, with his parents and younger brother, Albert Edward, at 5, Mount Terrace Road, Borstal.\u00a0 The three men in the family all worked as general labourers.<\/p>\n Francis died on 26 May 1915, aged 21.\u00a0 By the time of his death his mother had moved to 26, Amherst Road, Delce, Rochester.\u00a0 Francis was in the 2nd<\/sup> Battalion and his service number was L\/9851.\u00a0 The 2nd<\/sup> battalion were in Madras, India at the outbreak of war and returned to England before swiftly moving to France as part of the 28th<\/sup> division to reinforce the BEF.\u00a0 Francis would have fought and lost his life in the Second Battle of Ypres, which was the first battle in which poisonous gas was used as a weapon. \u00a0His body was not recovered so he is commemorated on the Menin Gate<\/a> memorial in Ieper (Ypres).<\/p>\n Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n Ancestry.co.uk<\/p>\n 1901 England Census<\/em>\u00a0[database on-line].\u00a0Class:\u00a0RG13<\/em>; Piece:\u00a0729<\/em>; Folio:\u00a0124<\/em>; Page:\u00a027<\/em><\/p>\n 1911 England Census<\/em>\u00a0[database on-line].\u00a0Class:\u00a0RG14<\/em>; Piece:\u00a03889<\/em>; Schedule Number:\u00a0314<\/em><\/p>\n The National Archives of the UK; Kew, Surrey, England;\u00a0Admiralty: Royal Marines, Plymouth Division: Order, Discharge and Letter Books, Registers and Returns.<\/em>; Class:\u00a0ADM 184<\/em>; Piece:\u00a0Piece 043<\/em>; Piece Description:\u00a0Piece 043 (1862 – 1894)<\/em><\/p>\n Ancestry.com.\u00a0UK, De Ruvigny’s Roll of Honour, 1914-1919<\/em>\u00a0[database on-line].<\/p>\n <\/p>\n