Frank died on 4th September 1917, as a Sergeant in the 12th Battalion, King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry. He had been at the front for one year and seven months without leave, and had enlisted in the battalion in November 1915.

The 12th Battalion KOYLI was a service battalion, originally formed in September 1914 as a Miner’s Battalion and it was assigned as the pioneer battalion of the 31st Division. The Battalioon left England for Egypt on 6th December 1915 and spent two months there before being shipped to France to take part in the infamous battle of the Somme where they fought alongside the Sheffield Pals (12th York and Lancaster Regiment) and the Accrington Pals (11th East Lancashires). If Frank had been at the front for 19months before his death, he would have fought in the Battle of the Somme.

The war diaries for the day Frank died show a relatively quiet day with all four companies working on maintenance of the front or rear areas. The diary entry simply states “3 O.R. (Other Ranks) killed and 3 /O.R. wounded.” Those three men were Frank Elliott, and two Privates Frederick Squires of Dewsbury, and Frank Thackery of Sheffield. All three men are buried together in Railway Chateau Cemetery, on the road between Ypres and Poperinghe.