William John Fradd 1874

William John Fradd was born in February 1874 in Newton Abbot, Devon, England  to Emma E. Unknown. Emma's name could be Fradd or she may have married a Fradd; records are not clear. William had three siblings; Eliza, Clara and Thomas.
William joined the army on the 11th May 1894.

The 1st Battalion The Devonshire Regiment 
William John Fradd as a private (3928) in the1st Battalion was sent out to India early in 1895 to assist in the relief of Chitral.
Tribesmen in Chitral (district in northernmost Pakistan) remained hostile to the British, who had entered the area and established an agency (1889). In 1895, a coup d'etat in Chitral cost the life of the ruling chief, and the victors attempted to drive out the British representative, which necessitated the dispatch of a 16,000-man British expedition to reduce the rebels. At the Malakand Pass, on April 3, 1895, the invading troops overwhelmed some 12,000 Chitralis, who lost more than 500 men before giving up control of the pass; on the other side about 70 were killed or wounded. A British garrison was later set up in Chitral, which was annexed to British India. Tribal rebellions occurred, but the British presence eventually brought peace in 1898.

William spent a total of 9 years and 3 months in India, then 2 years 4 months in South Africa before World War 2.

The 2nd Battalion The Devonshire Regiment 
William spent two tours on the Western Front in France with the 2nd Battalion with a 3 month reprieve in between.

04 November 1914 til 12 June 1915
01 October 1915 til 04 May 1916

¹ August 1914 found the 2nd Devons in Egypt, where their first task was to protect the Suez Canal.  Arriving at Southampton in October, they absorbed drafts of reservists before landing in France on 6th November.

By mid-November they were at Messines (close to the 1st Devons) where, in  two tours in the trenches near Neuve Chapelle, they suffered 20 casualties and lost another 70 men to sickness (mostly frostbite). 

In December they captured a German position known as the Moated Grange which cost a further 128 casualties.  They remained in this area until March 1915, when they lost heavily in an attack on the German lines on the 10th before next day repulsing a German counter-attack.  Their losses in March totalled 284 men.

An attack on Aubers Ridge in May 1915 cost another 250 casualties.  Remaining in this sector until April 1916, they moved to the Somme to prepare for the offensive. 
On 1st July, the 2nd Devons attacked between Ovillers and La Boiselle, losing 232 killed and 199 wounded, many of whom fell to German machine guns in what they called Mash Valley.On 18th and 29th July at Cuinchy they repulsed two German attacks before being withdrawn to rebuild their shattered Battalion.
Returning to the Somme, on 8th/9th November they captured and consolidated a ridge near Le Transloy before being rested at Vergies.

William spent time in Egypt, Malta and Crete before discharging on the 11th May 1916 on account of termination of engagement of active service; aged 42 years retiring to Upton, Newquay, Devon on a full pension. His record noted him as a good soldier with quiet an addiction to alcoholic liquors.
He received the Indian Medal, South African Medal, Victory Star and British War Medal for his service. He died in September 1924 in Newton Abbot, Devon, England.

¹https://www.keepmilitarymuseum.org/history/first+world+war/the+devonshire+regiment/the+second+battalion