Pte 57946 Frederick William Plose

• Age: 24
• From: Rotherhithe, London
• Regiment: The King's (Liverpool Regiment) 17th Btn
• K.I.A Thursday 26th April 1917
• Commemorated at: Arras Memorial
  Panel Ref: Bay 3

The family name is PLOESA.

Frederick William was born in Rotherhithe, London on 09^th December 1892, and baptised on Christmas Day 25th December 1892, at St. Leonard’s Church, Shoreditch, under the name Fritz William. He was the son of Frederick William Fritz Plosea and Jessie Amelia Hoepfner. His father was German, a 24 year old hairdresser, who lived at 58 Hoxton Street, Hackney. He married 19 year old Jessie Hoepfner on the 23rd December 1888 at St John the Baptist Church, Hoxton. Her full name was Amelia Jessie, she was born in London but she also had a German born father William, similarly a hairdresser. 

Frederick had two siblings; an older sister May Lilian Jessie who was born in the December quarter of 1889 and a younger brother Stanley born in the March quarter of 1897.

On 1891 census the family have become known as "Plose"  and are living at 107 Tooley Street, Southwark. His father is shown as Fritz, he is a 27 year old hairdresser, whilst his wife Jessie is 22. Their daughter May is one year old and they have two servants.   

The 1901 Census shows the family are still living at 107 Tooley Street, Southwark. He is listed as Fritz and is aged 9. His parents are both present and he has two siblings; May aged 11 and Stanley aged 4.

His mother died in 1906 when Frederick was 13.

His father died suddenly of tubercular meningitis in 1910 aged 46.

There is no record of the three siblings on the 1911 Census.

Frederick enlisted in Rotherhithe, joining the London Divisional Cyclist Company as Private 3492. He subsequently transferred to the 17th Battalion of The King's Liverpool Regiment as Private 57946. 

In 1915 he married Louisa Mary Ann Brown in Bethnal Green. There does not appear to have been children born to the marriage.

Frederick was killed in action on 26th April 1917, aged 24.

His body was not recovered from the battlefieid or was subsequently lost as his name is recorded on the Arras Memorial in France.

The ARRAS MEMORIAL commemorates almost 35,000 servicemen from the United Kingdom, South Africa and New Zealand who died in the Arras sector between the spring of 1916 and 7 August 1918, the eve of the Advance to Victory, and have no known grave. The most conspicuous events of this period were the Arras offensive of April-May 1917, and the German attack in the spring of 1918. Canadian and Australian servicemen killed in these operations are commemorated by memorials at Vimy and Villers-Bretonneux. A separate memorial remembers those killed in the Battle of Cambrai in 1917. Both cemetery and memorial were designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, with sculpture by Sir William Reid Dick. The memorial was unveiled by Lord Trenchard, Marshal of the Royal Air Force on the 31 July 1932 (originally it had been scheduled for 15 May, but due to the sudden death of French President Doumer, as a mark of respect, the ceremony was postponed until July).

His death was reported in The People on the 27th May 1917:

King's (Liverpool Regt) PLOSE 57946 F. W. (Bethnal Green E.)

Soldiers Effects and Pension to widow Louisa Mary. At the time of his death, his wife Louisa were living in Forest Gate, London.

His sister May, married in 1913 to William Joseph Feagan, she gave her address as 6 Hopetoun Place, Zoar St, Southwark. She died in 1927 not having had children.

His brother Stanley served in the Tank Corps during the war.  Stanley is on the 1939 register, he married Myrtle Philp in 1928 and they had a son Michael in 1934. 

His widow, Louisa Mary remarried in 1921 and had two sons; in a dreadful twist of fate she and her husband were killed in the Blitz in 1941.

We currently have no further information on Frederick William Plose, If you have or know someone who may be able to add to the history of this soldier, please contact us.