Frank Sutton was born on 10 November 1882 the eldest of the three children of Alfred Sutton (b. circa 1855) and Elizabeth Sutton (b. circa 1852). His birth was registered in the 4th quarter of 1882 in the Wandsworth Registration District, Surrey (now Greater London).
In the census that was compiled on 5 April 1891 he was shown as aged 8 years and a scholar living at The Cottage, Viewfield Road, Wandsworth, London, with his parents and his two sisters: Grace Sutton, aged 5 years and Daisy Sutton, aged 4 years. His father was described as a domestic servant gardener.
He enlisted as Private in the Norfolk Regiment, service number 5779, and when the census that was undertaken on 31 March 1901 he was shown as such in the regiment's 3rd Battalion, aged 18 years and was stationed in Britannia Barracks, Thorpe, Norwich, Norfolk.
He is described on the census return form that was completed on 2 April 1911 as aged 28 years, a single man and a domestic servant living in the ten roomed property at 10 Queen Street, Mayfair, London, the home of Lindo Sammell Myers, an art expert and his family, together with three other domestic servants, including a Minnie May Bell who was aged 27 years and had been born in Newton Stewart, Wigtownshire (now Dumfries and Galloway), Scotland.
On 1 November 1912 he was appointed as a postman in the London Postal Service.
He married Minnie May Bell (1883-1985) in the 2nd quarter of 1913 in the Kensington Registration District, London and they had two children: Wilfred Sutton (b. January 1914) and Sybil Elizabeth Sutton (1918-2003).
On the outbreak of World War One he was recalled to the Norfolk Regiment and entered France on 31 August 1914. He subsequently transferred to the Machine Gun Corps and his service number was 92713 and he gained promotion to the rank of Serjeant.
"F" Company, Machine Gun Corps became "F" Company, Heavy Branch, Machine Gun Corps in November 1916, then became "F" Battalion, Tank Corps on 27 July 1917 when the Tank Corps was formed. The 6th Tank Battalion war diary notes - Pages 48 - 49 - read that "On November 13, 18 Company made the first move, trekking from Auchy -les-Hesdin to Erin ready for entraining at Erin, for our unknown destination. On the 14th, 16 and 17 Companies trekked to Erin, and the whole three companies entrained on three trains the same day. That night, about 8 pm, the train conveying 18 Company met with an accident at the horse-shoe bend in the line between Bray-sur-Somme and Le Plateau Junction. One of the trucks carrying the majority of the men on No. 12 Section jumped the rails at the head of the bend, after jolting along for some distance overturned, shooting the men under the other wagons, and causing several casualties. Sergt. Sutton and Cpl. Hicks were killed, and eight other ranks injured. The killed and injured were, after some difficulty, got out of the wreckage and medical aid secured for the injured".
Serjeant Sutton was in fact taken to hospital where he died two days later, on 16 November 1917. His pension record card shows that he was aged 35 years and that his cause of death was "A fracture to the base of his skull whist on active service".
His body was buried in , in the Cerisy-Gailly Military Cemetery, Cerisy, Département de la Somme, Picardie, France.
On 2 January 1918 the Post Office sent his £94-6s-10d gratuity to his widow for his five years service as a postman. (It was from the Post Office gratuity records that we found not only his date of birth, but also the date he was appointed as a postman). His army effects totalling £7-12s-2d were sent to his widow on 24 April 1918 and she was sent his £18-0s-0d war gratuity on 25 November 1919. He was posthumously awarded the 1914 Star, the British War Medal 1914-1918 and the Victory Medal.
He is shown as 'SUTTON, F' on the Western Postal District war memorial, Mount Pleasant, London, WC1. He is also commemorated on the , on the , on the , on the and on .
Credit for this entry to: Andrew Behan.
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