YEATES, Francis Leonard

Francis was born in Newport in 1894 to John (a Prison Officer) & Elizabeth (nee GILMORE) YEATES, who were living at 2 Gordon Terrace, Heytesbury Road in Newport around the time of Francis’ death.

Francis, formally working at the Royal Brewery, served with the 8th Bn. known as the Isle of Wight Rifles, & sent to fight at Gallipoli. 900 Rifles landed at Sulva Bay, Gallipoli, on 10th August 1915.

On the 12th August, together with other members of the 163rd Brigade, the Rifles were ordered to advance & occupy a ridge of hills in front of them, & in doing so, cut off the Turkish armies in the area of Anzac beach & cape Helles, in order to dominate the Dardanelles straights.  During the first attack, 8 officers over 300 men of the Rifles were reported killed or missing.

Francis was one of those missing men, whose body was never found or identified. He is commemorated by the Commission on the Helles Memorial to the Missing in Gallipoli, Turkey with 20,961 of his comrades. Francis was 20.

Francis is also remembered on the County & Newport Borough War Memorials.