Frank William Foster

Wing Commander Frank William Foster (April 10 1887, London — March 5 1963, Reading). Although born in West London, he was brought up and educated in the village of Stockcross in Berkshire. He joined the Royal Navy in 1903 at the age of 16, and saw action in many theatres of World War I, including the Battle of Jutland, in which he gained the DSM.

He transferred to the RAF in the latter part of the War, and was awarded the DFC for gallantry and devotion to duty. At the cessation of activities he joined the little group of pioneers who were struggling to develop an aircraft carrier deck landing technique on an old converted cruiser — HMS "Argus".

In 1927, trouble flared up on the North-West Frontiers of British India, and Flying Officer Foster was drafted with a squadron of old Bristol Fighters to police the Himalayas and keep order. This involved active duty for five years. As a form of relaxation, on one of his leaves he made a trek accompanied by an Indian guide to Tibet, visiting the district of Ladakh.

Returning from India in 1933, a short spell as radio and communications instructor followed, prior to a return to the sea in the ill-fated HMS "Courageous". F/O Foster was transferred to a Coastal Command at Plymouth, a comparatively short time before HMS "Courageous" was sunk by enemy action. Coastal Command service led to promotion to the rank of Wing Commander, involving transfer to [http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/maritime/exhibitions/boa/derbyhouse.asp Derby House] , Liverpool, one of a number of vital communication centres for the three services. It figured in the tracking and final annihilation of the Bismarck. For his service he was mentioned in dispatches three times, on 17 March 1941, 11 June 1942 and 14 January 1944.

Wing Commander Foster's service in World War II carried him beyond the normal retiring age, but the day had to come, of course, when he had to take leave of the services, in November 1945. Not for him however was the sedentary life of retirement. In January 1946, he joined the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) as a Communications Officer, serving until the administration closed down in June 1948. The Ministry of Supply knew the Wing Commander next, and he became an experimental officer acting as a liaison between the Air Ministry and aircraft manufacturers. In December 1955 he had finally to retire from the active scene.

Wing Commander Foster had a wife, Edith, and two children, Harold and Betty - his home remained at Stockcross until the end of his life, when he was taken to the [http://www.rbbh.nhs.uk/battle Battle Hospital] in Reading after a long fight against Parkinson's disease. He died there on March 5 1963, aged 75.

Navy career

*22 June 1903 - Volunteered
*23 June 1903 - Boy 2nd Class, HMS "Impregnable"
*21 January 1904 - Boy 1st Class
*1 September 1904 - Signal Boy, HMS "Hercules"
*22 November 1904 - HMS "Sutlej"
*25 January 1905 - HMS "Iphigenia"
*27 April 1905 - Signalman (signed up for 12 years service)
*20 August 1905 - HMS "Hogue"
*9 November 1905 - Qual. Sig.
*13 February 1906 - HMS "Tamar"
*13 March 1907 - HMS "Patriot" (?)
*14 May 1907 - HMS "Victory"
*1 October 1907 - Signalman
*15 December 1907 - HMS "Grafton"
*1 April 1908 - Leading Signalman
*27 September 1908 - HMS "Victory"
*7 January 1909 - HMS "Hawke"
*1 March 1909 - HMS "Tamar" (Otter)
*1 April 1911 - HMS "Crescent"
*22 June 1911 - HMS "Victory"
*28 January 1912 - HMS "Arrogant"
*30 April 1912 - HMS "Crescent"
*14 May 1912 - HMS "Orontes" (Albatross)
*24 July 1912 - HMS "Egmont"
*15 November 1913 - HMS "Victory"
*1 October 1914 - Yeoman Signalman
*23 October 1914 - HMS "Emperor of India"
*19 June 1916 - Acting Signalman Boatswain
*11 August 1917 - Signal Boatswain "(Available naval records stop here)"

RAF career

*27 July 1918 - Appointed Second Lieutenant Observer
*27 January 1920 - Promoted Observer Officer
*15 July 1926 - Appointed Flying Officer (on abolition of title of Observer)
*19 June 1931 - Promoted Flight Lieutenant
*1 July 1938 - Promoted Squadron Leader
*24 April 1940 - Transferred to Technical Branch
*1 December 1940 - Promoted Wing Commander (temporary) - placed on retired list and re-employed with RAF
*11 November 1945 - Reverted to retired list, as Wing Commander

Medals List

*Mons Star, Yeoman of Signals 1914/15
*Distinguished Service Medal, Yeoman of Signals 1916
*Distinguished Flying Cross, 2nd/Lt RAF 1918
*General Service Medal, 2nd/Lt RAF 1918
*Victory Service Medal, 2nd/Lt RAF 1918
*India General Service Medal & Bar, F/O RAF 1930/31 (North West Frontier)
*Silver Jubilee Medal, 1935
*Coronation Medal, 1937
*War Medal & Mentioned in Despatches clasp, 1939/45
*Defence Medal, 1945

External links

*Naval communications history — [http://www.rnca.org.uk/history/rnca1c.htm Royal Naval Communications Association, Communications History - The First Signal Schools]
*Derby House, Liverpool — [http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/maritime/exhibitions/boa/derbyhouse.asp Merseyside Maritime Museum, Liverpool and the Battle] and [http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/localhistory/journey/underground/western_approaches/history.shtml Western Approaches - History (BBC Liverpool, Local History)]
*Large naval history sites — [http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/ Battleships-Cruisers.co.uk] and [http://www.maritimequest.com/index.htm MaritimeQuest]
*Fleet Air Arm Archive — [http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/Welcome.htm Fleet Air Arm (FAA) Archive Welcome Page on British Naval Aviation]