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Lieutenant Frederick William POLEHAMPTON
15th (The King's) Hussars and 8 Squadron Royal Flying Corps Date of birth: 14th June 1873 Date of death: 26th April 1915 Killed on active service aged 41 Buried at Longuenesse (St Omer) Souvenir Cemetery Plot I Row A Grave 89
Frederick William Polehampton was born at Hartfield in Sussex on the 14th of June 1873 the eldest son of the Reverend Edward Thomas William Polehampton MA, Rector of Hartfield, and Helena Cecilia (nee Reily) Polehampton of The Rectory, Hartfield. He was christened at Hartfield on the 6th of July 1873. He was educated at Lancing College where he was in School House from September 1886 to July 1891. He was married at Christ Church, Victoria in British Columbia on the 9th of October 1899 to Kate Eunice (nee Davie) of Victoria, later of 10 Dorset Square, Marylebone in London. They returned to the UK from New York on the SS "Oceanic" and landed at Liverpool on the 20th of November 1901. He lived as a gentleman on his own means at Heyford Grange, Nether Heyford in Northamptonshire and lived later at "The Comedy", Christian Malford, Chippenham in Wiltshire. By 1896 he was the owner of a number of race horses of which Miss Clifden II ran in the 1902 Grand National. He served as Honorary Secretary of the Wiltshire Polo Club and won the pig sticking and tandern events at annual club gymkhana in 1902. He was a member of the Moreton Morrell Polo Club, a member of the Warwickshire Hunt and later became Vice President of the Kineton Working Men's Club. For a time he was in partnership with John Lindsay Scott in the motor car dealership of Scott and Polehampton at 161 Piccadilly in London but the business was wound up on the 31st of August 1912. In 1912 he and his wife moved to Walton Woodhouse, Wellesbourne, near Stratford-on-Avon in Warwickshire. He obtained his Aviators Certificate (number 914) on the 27th of September 1914 at the Grahame-White School at Hendon flying a Grahame-White biplane. At the time he was a 2nd Lieutenant in the 15th Hussars but he later transferred to the 14th Reserve Regiment of Cavalry (Special Reserve). He was posted to the Reserve Aeroplane Squadron at South Farnborough on the 8th of October 1914 and joined them there on the 10th of October. He was confirmed in the rank of 2nd Lieutenant, was appointed as a Flying Officer and was seconded to the Royal Flying Corps on the 1st of January 1915 and posted to 8 Squadron which was formed at Brooklands near Weybridge on the 1st of April 1915, being the first squadron fully equipped with the BE2c aircraft. The squadron took off for France on the 15th of April 1915 but only eight aircraft arrived safely at St Omer, their new base for operations. It was not until the 25th of April 1915 that the squadron was finally assembled at St Omer, fully equipped and with all its personnel. He was promoted to Lieutenant on the 24th of April 1915. The day after the squadron arrived in France Frederick Polehampton was killed in an accident at St Omer while flying a BE2c 1758. He was the squadron's first casualty. His body was taken to 10 Stationary Hospital. His wife received the following telegram dated the 28th of April 1915: - "Deeply regret to inform you that 2nd Lt. F.W. Polehampton Royal Flying Corps was killed in action on 26th April - no further details. Lord Kitchener expresses his sympathy." He is commemorated on the war memorial at Walton near Stratford upon Avon and on the memorial at Hartfield.

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