Sapper 325871 Frederick Watkins
Royal Engineers

Frederick Watkins was the son of Job and Jane Watkins, of Groesnewydd, Llanfechain.  He enlisted in the Royal Engineers and when killed was in ‘A’ Signal Depot (Bedford), RE.    Each infantry division included a Signals Company with a total strength of 162 men. The Signals Companies relied on horses for transport and had an establishment of 33 riding horses plus 47 draught heavy and 4 pack horses. There were also 32 bicycles and 9 motorcycles. The circumstances of Frederick Watkins’ death are unclear but it is reported that he died at sea in the Copenhagen theatre on Thursday 10th October 1918 aged 19. He is buried in the Grangegorman Military Cemetery, County Dublin, Ireland.  (Grave Reference: CE. New Plot. 700).

The Grangegorman Military Cemetery was opened in 1876 and was used for the burial of British service personnel and their near relatives.  It contains graves from both world wars.  There are now 613 Commonwealth burials of the 1914-1918 war.