McManamin, E. Francis
Private 22611 (CEF) 720423 (BEF)
12th Battalion
1st Dorset Regiment
7th Battalion, Royal Munster Fusiliers
Background
Francis McManamin was born April 2, 1883 in Fredericton, New Brunswick to Edward and Mary McManamin. According to the 1891 and 1901 Census of Canada, Edward and Mary had a large family of nine sons, including Frank. The other eight boys in the family were Philip, John, Mark, William, Thomas, Joseph, Stephen, and Herbert. The second oldest son, John, passed away the winter of 1895 after a long illness. At the time of his death John was twenty-three years old. Being one of the youngest in a family of all boys, for Frank, the death of his brother likely had an influence on his upbringing. While there are limited details of his early life, newspapers suggest that Frank became a prominent athlete in Fredericton and later Cape Breton playing a variety of sports such as hockey, basketball, baseball, and rugby. As a teenager, he had enlisted with the 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles and went to South Africa during the Boer War. And so, prior to the war, Frank had many life experiences that prepared him for military service if the time ever came. After returning from South Africa, newspapers suggest that he worked as a clerk in the area before moving out west to Edmonton, Alberta. Two brothers – Thomas and Philip – also were working out west before 1914. When war broke out, Frank immediately enlisted and left for Valcartier, Quebec where he joined the 12th Battalion and met up with an old friend from Fredericton, Robert Philips. The two had known one another since the Boer War and accounts in newspapers suggest they remained close as they prepared to go overseas to England. According to his attestation, Frank formally enlisted September 23, 1914 in Quebec and was described as having blue eyes, black hair, and a fair complexion. At the age of thirty-one, he stood approximately five feet ten inches tall and was unmarried. He was not the only brother to enlist as newspapers reveal Stephen and Herbert also enlisted with the Royal Flying Corps and 140th Battalion. Although it is unclear if he saw family before going to England, while overseas Frank would write letters home frequently to family and friends. Many of these letters found their way into newspapers providing an interesting window into his experiences during the war.
Wartime Experience
On October 3, 1914, Private McManamin left Quebec for England aboard the S.S. Olympic arriving over a week later on October 14. Despite being a veteran of the Boer War, Frank appears to have had difficulty adjusting to life with the CEF once in Salisbury, England. For the first few months of his time with the 12th Battalion, he was repeatedly charged for being AWL, for “creating a disturbance”, “breaking out of barracks”, and “being in possession of a pass believed to be a forgery”. According to newspapers, Frank and Robert both would be discharged and sent to Liverpool on route for Canada. However, both eluded their military escort and were later arrested and sent back to Salisbury Plain. While at Salisbury, they were successful in getting released so that they could join a regiment going over to France. When they were unable to join another Canadian Battalion, they chose to enlist with the Dorsetshire Regiment under the BEF. Two weeks later, Frank and Robert were in France. As a result of joining a British unit, there are limited details of his exact movements during the war. However, because Frank wrote home so much, his letters provide important details regarding his service. On March 28, 1915, he wrote home:
“We are getting along all right now and had three goes at the Germans. I had two close shaves. A bullet grazed my cheek and left a mark an inch long. The other one was when a big German mortar shell burst just in front of the trench and pretty nearly buried us all. I wish you could have seen it. I had to laugh for about an hour. I would like to tell you about what’s going on here, but we’re not allowed to. The trenches are full of water and it is very cold. We spend hours in them and then we go to what are known as dugouts, just behind the trenches. We go up tomorrow for a ten-day stay and then we are to get a long rest. I hope so. I want you to send me a number of copies of the Gleaner as far back as you can get them. We like to get the news from Fredericton. It just snowed here yesterday, and it was just like one of those old timers in Fredericton you know around the first of March. I think the north pole must be shifted over here now.”
By this time, Frank was in northern France and was preparing to head to the Ypres Salient with his unit. In May, he wrote home again describing engagements near Hill 60, in Belgium, where according to him “it was hell let loose… I never want to see anything like it again.” Explaining at the time that Robert wanted everyone to know he was doing alright his friend was killed later the same day. Robert’s body was never found. A few months later, Frank would accompany the 7th Munster Fusiliers to Serbia in the Balkans. On December 8, the Daily Gleaner shared news of a letter sent to his father with Frank offering, “just a few lines to let you know I am well and getting along all right. I have got back at the front and now just a few hundred yards from the firing line. We may be going into the trenches today.” Over the next year, he continued to write home often sharing bits of news of his time in the Balkans, and later explaining partially how he received his military medal for engagements while in Greece. However, tragedy struck the family once more. On March 16, 1917 Frank was engaged in a bombing raid, sent out to lead his unit into enemy lines at night. As he was leading the raid, a German machine-gun turned on him. According to accounts in newspapers, although he was able to retreat, his body was hit so many times it was impossible that he would ever recover from the wounds. After being treated throughout the night, Frank passed away the next morning. News of his death reached New Brunswick papers across the province by early April and later the London Press in England. On April 3, St. Dunstan’s Church held two masses in which the congregation was asked to offer prayers for the family. In a letter written home a year later to family, Captain J.D. Black offered that Frank wanted everyone to know that “his last thoughts were of home and he asked me to send word to you to let his family know the facts of his death. I know it will be a great bereavement, but I am sure that his family will be proud and know that, although he is gone, he died a hero. Let everyone know that I share in their sorrow… he was a great pal.” At the time of his death, Frank was thirty-three years old.
Lest We Forget
Private E. Francis McManamin is buried with honour at the Struma Military Cemetery, located near Kalokastro, Greece in the Struma Valley. According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, there are approximately 908 identified casualties in this cemetery.
|