Peter Wise and Brenda McMahon have submitted the following:-
Francis/Frank was born to his Irish couple Thomas and Bridget (nee Garvey) on August 14th and was soon afterwards baptised on August 29th 1886 at the Roman Catholic Church at Barnard Castle. They had 9 children together although 3 died.
The 1891 census does not show father Thomas (a drainer of land) at his home on census night, he is living elsewhere in Barnard Castle. Francis' mother worked as a flax spinner to help support the family. His older brother, Thomas, was a mason’s labourer.
By 1901 Francis is also working as a flax spinner. An addition to the family at that time is a grand son, John born 1895. Thomas by this time aged 72 years has no occupation.
The 1911 census reports only Bridget (retired Mill hand and now a widow), Frank (a flax dresser for a shoe thread manufacturer) and young John (a factory hand aged 15) were the only family members still at home at Broadgates Bank, Barnard Castle.
In his spare time Frank was a popular singer in the town.
Frank joined the army in 1914 and became 2263 Private in the Durham Light Infantry. He embarked for France on April 19th 1915.
One of Frank's letters home was featured in the Teesdale Mercury 19/05/1915 and reads :-
Private F Horan a local Territorial, sends a letter to a friend at Barnard Castle, under date May 5th in which he says that writing paper and envelopes are as scarce as gold where he is. Speaking of the action he says it was hot and they knew it. Their food is chiefly biscuits and corned beef, which, he says, goes down all right when hungry, which happens often enough, and sometimes too often. The French and Belgians know how to charge for a bit of bread. It had surprised him. Bread is very scarce and he does not think cakes are made in “these parts”. He continues “I often read of poor Belgium and what I have seen of it would grieve anybody. Nothing but wreck and ruin wherever we go. We just got through a town a few nights ago when it was shelled and set on fire, and it is a common occurrence to see a big farm blazing. I am certain now that the Kaiser has a lot of ‘Old Nick’ in him. We have passed through what have been grand towns, but the churches and best buildings have all gone. We were in the trenches for over a week, night and day, and the rest of the time on the move, roughing it. We are at a rest camp just now but I don't know how long it will last.
At the end of August 1915 Frank spent a few days in hospital due to defective vision.
Frank was killed in action at Ridge Wood on April 12th 1916. The War Diary for that day shows it to have been a quiet day on the whole except for considerable aeroplane activity.
Two of Frank’s brothers also served and died in the Great War. Thomas who died February 15th 1918 and James who died April 2nd 1918.
His father Thomas had died in 1907 and mother Bridget died in 1923.
Frank Horan is remembered at Barnard Castle on B135.02, B135.23 and B135.25
He is also remembered in The DLI Book of Remembrance page 80
