b. 04/09/1896 Wellington, Somerset. d. 27/04/1974 Wellington, Somerset.
DATE AND PLACE OF GC ACTION: 24/09/1921 Nilambur, India.
Frederick Henry Troake (1896-1974) was born on 4th September 1896 in Wellington, Somerset, the son of William and Hannah Troake (nee Twose). He had two sisters, Beatrice and Florence and a brother William. The family lived at Rockwell Green and the children went to the village school. When Frederick left school at 13, he worked at the local woollen mill, before joining the Army in 1913. He soon joined the Dorsetshire Regiment from the Somerset Light Infantry and was posted to India. He married Lucy Cooksley in 1919 in Bath, and they had no children.
Frederick H Troake GC
On 24th September 1921, at Nilambur, India, he showed conspicuous gallantry in advancing up to the fence around a house in which rebels had been located and in covering the rush of an officer and NCO who set fire to the roof, forcing the rebels out. He and Pte Chant subsequently showed courage in clearing the rebels out of the gardens and jungle around the house.
On 1st June 1923, Ptes Troake, Frederick Chant, Tom Miller and Assistant Surgeon 3rd Class George Rodrigues were all awarded the Empire Gallantry Medal for their actions in the Moplah Rebellion.
When he returned to England in the mid 1920s, he worked at the gasometer in Wellington but had to retire due to ill health in the 1940s. In September 1940, following the creation of the George Cross, all living recipients of the EGM exchanged their medals for the new decoration. He died on 27th April 1974 and was cremated and his ashes were interred in Rockwell Green Cemetery, Wellington, Somerset. His medals including his GC, British War Medal 1914-20, Territorial Force War Medal 1914-18, India General Service Medal 1908-35 with clasp “Malabar 1921-22” and 1953 Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal are privately held.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: PRIVATELY HELD.
BURIAL PLACE: ROCKWELL GREEN CEMETERY, WELLINGTON,SOMERSET.
GRAVE 186
Acknowledgements:
Kevin Brazier – Image of Troake GC Grave in Rockwell Green Cemetery, Wellington.
Steve Davies – Image of a replica Troake GC group at The Keep Museu, Dorchester.