MICHELL, FRANK
Rank:
Service No:
Date of Death:
Age:
Regiment/Service:
Grave Reference:
Text on stone:
Fusilier
4202923
24/09/1944
24
The Royal Welch Fusiliers
I. B. 15
From the sharp blow I fell with no time to say farewell.
“In the midst of life we are in death”
Additional information:
Son of Sampson and Charlotte michell, of Pentre. Flintshire
Killed during the battles around the village of Reusel. Initially buried at Hoofdstraat 60 Reusel.
From the service records of Frank Michell, the following account can be reconstructed.
Frank Michell was born on 24 February 1920 in Sandycroft, Chester. In civilian life he worked as a builder’s labourer, a physically demanding occupation that reflected his practical skills and resilience. His physical description records him as 5 feet 3¼ inches tall, with brown eyes and brown hair. He was unmarried.
Frank enlisted in the British Army on 13 June 1940, joining the Royal Welch Fusiliers (RWF). After training and home service, he was eventually posted overseas. He entered the North-West Europe theatre on 24 June 1944, shortly after the Normandy landings, at a time when British forces were engaged in heavy and continuous combat during the Allied breakout from the beachhead.
Serving with the Royal Welch Fusiliers, Frank Michell took part in the hard fighting that characterised the summer and early autumn of 1944. During these operations, he was killed in action on 24 September 1944.
Frank Michell was 24 years old at the time of his death. He was one of many young infantrymen who lost their lives during the Allied advance through North-West Europe, having served his country from the early years of the war until its most decisive phase.
