Sjt Hoad and Edmund Blunden – Pillbox.

Did you know that the poem “Pillbox” by Edmund Blunden refers to a Serjeant Hoad, and that there is only one Sjt Hoad casualty recorded in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Debt of Honour database? (There are 3 other Hoads, but all privates).

Pill Box

‘Pill Box’ by Edmund Blunden

He was HOAD, FRANK ALBERT. Rank: Serjeant. Service No: SD/429.
Date of Death: 03/09/1916. Age: 28.
Regiment/Service: Royal Sussex Regiment 11th Bn.
Panel Reference: Pier and Face 7 C.
Memorial: THIEPVAL MEMORIAL.
Additional Information: Son of Mr Nelson and Mrs Mary Ann Hoad, of Little Lulhams Farm, Ripe, Lewes, Sussex.

NAME: Frank Albert Hoad. BIRTH DATE: 1889. BIRTH PLACE: Battle, Sussex.
AGE AT ENLISTMENT: 25. DOCUMENT YEAR: 1914. REGIMENTAL NUMBER: 429
REGIMENT NAME: Royal Sussex Regiment, South Down Battalion.

Thiepval Memorial to the Missing where Sjt Hoad is commemorated.

Thiepval Memorial to the Missing where Sjt Hoad is commemorated.

Name: Frank Albert Hoad. Birth Place: Battle, Sussex.
Death Date: 3 Sep 1916. Enlistment Place: Eastbourne
Rank: Sergeant. Regiment: Royal Sussex Regiment. 11th Battalion
Regimental Number: SD/429. Type of Casualty: Killed in action.

Edmund Blunden also served in the 11th Battalion (South Downs) Royal Sussex Regiment.

From a first read, it seems that Sjt Hoad just has a shell splinter, but as his companions then tell him “Bluffer, you’ve a Blighty, man” it is obviously a serious wound requiring treatment in England.

Sjt Hoad is also suffering from shell shock and succumbs to his wounds in the pillbox.

This appears to have been in the area of a feature known as Tower Hamlets and Polygon Wood near Thiepval. it may even have been the bunker at Goumier Farm, Pilckem Ridge, which still survives.

You might expect there to be a known grave, but the subsequent fighting over the next two years probably destroyed all traces of his grave. Whilst Frank is recorded as living in the town of Battle, his father, Nelson, was born in Ninfield.

His relatives might like to know that some pages of his Service record survive.

In regards to Hoad’s rank; the military titles Serjeant and Sergeant (and abbreviations Sjt and Sgt) have been used interchangeably in the army. Serjeant was the common spelling during the First World War but was replaced with Sergeant in the years afterwards.

This story was contributed by Kevin Regan