Person    | Male  Born 26/4/1887  Died 25/11/1914

Frank A. de Pass, VC

Countries: India

War dead, WW1 i

Commemorated on a memorial as having died in WW1.

Soldier. Born Frank Alexander de Pass in Kensington. He was a lieutenant in the 34th Prince Albert Victor's Own Poona Horse Regiment in the Indian Army. On the 24th November 1914, he entered a German 'sap' (covered trench) near Festubert, France, and while being bombed by the enemy, destroyed a 'traverse' (an angled part of a trench, designed to reduce casualties in the event of a shell strike). He also rescued a wounded man who was lying exposed to enemy fire. The next day, he was killed in a second attempt to capture the trench, and was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross on the 18th February 1915.
He was the first officer of the Indian Army to receive the medal, and is also credited with being the first Jewish serviceman to be thus honoured, although a similar claim is made for Leonard Keysor.

We think it likely that Crispin de Pass, also on the Bevis Marks memorial, was a relative, possibly a brother.

Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Frank A. de Pass, VC

Commemorated ati

Bevis Marks - war memorial

Yehidim or, more usually Yehudim, comes from the Bible and means the Kingdom ...

Read More

Frank de Pass VC

{Beneath an image of a Victoria Cross medal:} Lieutenant Frank de Pass, 34th ...

Read More

Lauderdale Road Synagogue - WW1 and WW2

 British Jews in the First World War provides a personal profile for each of ...

Read More

Memorial Gates

Designed by Liam O'Connor as a reduced-scale version of Lutyens' monument at ...

Read More

Other Subjects

Field Marshal, First Viscount Alanbrooke

Field Marshal, First Viscount Alanbrooke

Churchill's chief military advisor in WW2.  Born (and brought up) in France as Alan Brooke into the Irish aristocracy.  Entered the army aged 18 and served in Ireland and India and then in WW1, in ...

Person, Armed Forces, France, India, Ireland

1 memorial
William Charles Niblett

William Charles Niblett

Born India. Called to the bar by the Inner Temple in 1882. Travelled extensively, settled in Singapore where he made his fortune in property. Returned to England in 1905. In 1915 he gave his Singap...

Person, Benefactor, Law, India, Singapore

1 memorial
Edith How-Martyn

Edith How-Martyn

Suffragist and birth control campaigner. Born Edith How in London. 1899 married George Herbert Martyn. Member of the Women's Social and Political Union. She was arrested in 1906 for attempting to ...

Person, Gender Issues, Social Welfare, Australia, India

1 memorial
Colin Campbell, Lord Clyde

Colin Campbell, Lord Clyde

Field Marshal. Born Glasgow as Colin Macliver but his maternal uncle financed his education so he took his surname, Campbell. Rose through the army ranks, fought at the Crimea and as Commander-in-C...

Person, Armed Forces, Crimea, India, Scotland

1 memorial
Lord Lugard

Lord Lugard

Soldier and colonial administrator. Born Frederick John Dealtry Lugard at Fort St George, Madras, India. After a varied military career, he entered the colonial service. Appointed governor of Hong ...

Person, Armed Forces, Politics & Administration, China/Hong Kong, India, Nigeria

1 memorial