First World War British War Medal – Private Frank Steele, 1st Bn. Scots Guards – K.I.A. Loos 1915
British War Medal – 12772 PTE. F. STEELE. S.GDS.
Frank Steele was born in 1894 at Canonbie, Dumfriesshire, and was the son of William Steele and his wife Bridget Armstrong, known as “Rillie” Steele. The family later resided in Northumberland, and by the time of the 1911 Census Frank was living with his parents at Wood Row, Plashetts, near Falstone. He was one of a large family, with several brothers and sisters, and was closely associated with both Canonbie and Plashetts, the former being his birthplace and the latter his long-term home.
He enlisted at Hexham, Northumberland, and joined the Scots Guards, being allotted the regimental number 12772. On enlistment he was posted to the 1st Battalion, Scots Guards, and entered the Western European Theatre of War with his battalion during the early stages of the Great War. Contemporary records and local newspaper reports confirm that he served in France and Flanders, taking part in active operations on the Western Front during 1915.
Private Steele was killed in action at Loos-en-Gohelle on 27th September 1915, aged 21, during the period of fighting associated with the Battle of Loos. A local newspaper report noted that he had resided at Plashetts, but was formerly from Canonbie, and described him as a son of Mr William Steele. The same report recorded that he was 21 years of age at the time of his death.
He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Loos Memorial, Panels 8 and 9, which bears the names of those who fell in the sector and whose final resting places are unknown. His service entitled him to the 1914–15 Star, British War Medal, and Victory Medal, issued posthumously. Frank Steele is also remembered on local memorials in the districts with which he was associated, his death marking the loss of a young Scots Guardsman during one of the most costly battles of 1915.
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