Gilbert Frankau (1884-1952), writer and war poet. Frankau served in the British Army from the outbreak of war in 1914, first in the 9th Battalion of the East Surrey Regiment, and then (with the rank of Captain) as a gunner in the 107th Brigade of the Royal Field Artillery ? experiences that he later used in novels. He fought in major battles of the British Expeditionary Force in France and wrote for the Wipers Times before being invalided out and given a posting in Italy. The family business not having survived the war, he became a writer.