Frank Richards (British Army soldier)

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Frank Richards, born Francis Philip Woodruff, DCM, MM (7 April 1883 – 26 August 1961), was a British World War I soldier and author. He grew up in Monmouthshire, Wales, after being orphaned at nine. His aunt and his mother’s twin brother raised him in Blaina, and his uncle adopted him, after which he took the surname Richards. As a young man he worked as a coal miner.

In 1901 he joined the Royal Welch Fusiliers and served in India and Burma from 1902 to 1909, then moved to the Army Reserve. He extended his reserve service in 1912. When World War I began, he was a reservist and rejoined the 2nd Battalion Royal Welch Fusiliers, serving on the Western Front for the duration of the war.

Richards faced harsh trench life, which damaged his health. He suffered malaria, rheumatism and haemorrhoids that needed surgery. After the war he could not return to mining and worked various temporary jobs.

In 1933 he published Old Soldiers Never Die, a memoir from the viewpoint of a regular soldier. Robert Graves helped with grammar and style. The book was a great success and is still read today; it mentions Graves and Siegfried Sassoon and includes the Christmas Truce from a soldier’s perspective. He published a second memoir, Old Soldier Sahib, about his time in India, in 1936.

Richards never rose above private, but he earned the Distinguished Conduct Medal and Military Medal. He gave a BBC interview for The Great War in 1954. He married Mary James late in life and had one daughter, Margaret. He remained in touch with Robert Graves and died in 1961 at age 78.