Captain Francis Horatio Evory Townshend MC OBE (6A26)
| Date of Birth: | 10 May 1887 |
|---|---|
| Date of Death: | dunm 10 Jun 1974 |
| Generation: | 7th |
| Residence: | Wooton Under Edge |
| Father: | Thomas Achilles Townsend [6A14] |
| Mother: | Carmichael, Eveline Victoria |
| Spouse: | Unmarried |
| Issue: | None |
| See Also: | Table VIA ; Scrapbook ; Lineage ; Ancestors' Tree ; Descendents' Tree |
Notes for Captain Francis Horatio Evory Townshend (Frank) MC OBE Croix de Chevalier
Frank was commissioned into the Royal Engineers from the Royal Military Academy on 25 July 1906 (1) but little is known about his military career other than that which can be gleaned from the London Gazette. He was promoted Lieutenant in 1908 but it is not known when he was promoted Captain. An entry in the Gazette dated 31 December 1915 records that he was Mentioned in Despatches (2) by Field-Marshal French, Commander-in-Chief, the British Army in France. Frank clearly stayed in France with the Field Army for the rest of the war as he was awarded the Military Cross (3) and Croix de Chevalier (4) in the early months of 1916. In April 1917 he was posted to the staff of the Chief Engineer, the British Expeditionary Force, and remained there until March 1918. Appointed OBE “For services with the British Expeditionary Force in France" on 4 June 1918 (5) Frank finally left the army, still as a Captain, on 15 August 1926 (6).
Nothing is know about Frank following his Army service other than he was an author, poet and artist (studied at Ecole Julien, Paris).
He wrote five books which are now all out of print; Earth (1929), Heaven (1930), Becoming (1939), Amen (1952) and Hell (1955). A review of his book 'Becoming' throws some light on Frank's writing - "This may be the most important book ever written about mankind and our relationship to all things. Part philosophy, part religion, part poetry, the book is an observation of mankind and how we have evolved of history into what we are and what our lives are today. No author has ever summarized humanity as correctly as Frank Townshend. It's the closest to a comprehensive understanding of the totality of existence as we can have in print. "
The Press Release for Keith Lay's choral work 'Vision of the Earth' throws light on Frank as an individual - "Townshend carries an air of mystery, for not much is known about his life. He wrote poetry, published at least three books, and lived in India for a while. He was also something of a transcendentalist and contributed to Theosophist and Buddhist magazines."
Frank has the distinction of being the most highly decorated member of the Townsend family.
(1) London Gazette 27944 page 5869 dated 28 August 1906.
(2) London Gazette 29422 page 10.
(3) London Gazette 29438 page 581 dated 11 January 1916.
(4) London Gazette 29486 page 2068 dated 24 February 1916.
(5) London Gazette 30730 page 6713.
(6) London Gazette 33192 page 5444.