FRANCIS CHARLES HUNT was serving as a Private in the 1st Battalion, The Lancashire Fusiliers when he was  killed in action on 9th October 1917 during the Battle of Poelcappelle.  He was aged 20, his body was never recovered from the field and he is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial.

He was the son of Victor and Gertrude Hunt of Church Enstone, having been born in Kiddington. 

The Battle of Poelcapelle marked the end of the string of highly successful British attacks in late September and early October 1917, during the Third battle of Ypres. The ground along the main ridges had been severely damaged by shelling and rapidly deteriorated in the rains, which began again on 3 October, which in some areas turned the ground into a swamp. Dreadful ground conditions had more effect on the British, who needed to move large amounts of artillery and ammunition to support the next attack. The battle was a defensive success for the German army, although costly to both sides. The weather and ground conditions put severe strain on all the infantry involved and led to many wounded being stranded on the battlefield. 

 

Steve Kingsford