1889 Mar 12. Born Romsey, Hants
1891 Census at 36 Church St, Romsey, Hampshire,
1901 Census Lansdowne House, 37Church St, Romsey, Hampshire,
He went to Handle College, a prep school in the Polygon area of Southampton
1903 Feb he was sent to HMS Conway. This was a Merchant Navy training school, but he does not appear to have served in the Merchant Navy on leaving
1904 Oct He left HMS Conway from their alumni records.
1908 Mar 20. Leaves UK for St Johns, Canada on SS Empress of Ireland. He is single and a "farmer" and travels 2nd class. He travelled through Canada, where he worked variously as a fruit grower and as a branch manager of a refrigeration company
1910 he returned to the U.K. Guard next found employment in London on The Times, but fell in with ‘bad company’ and was in ‘very poor shape indeed’ by the time his father bailed him out.
1910 Jun 2. Leaves UK on SS Empress of Ireland for Quebec, arriving Jun 9. He is bound for Montreal and his profession given as "refg engineer"
1913 Oct 9 Arrives UK from Quebec . He is an engineer
He then found employment on the West African Railways in Sierra Leone
1914 Jul 1. Leaves UK on SS Mendi bound for Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana his profession is "traders assistant"
1914 Aug 4. Obtained a commission in the West African Field Force soon after the outbreak of hostilities as a temp Lieutenant. His date of entry to War Zone indicates that he was involved in the attack on Togoland in Aug 1914 . He worked on Togoland Military Railways as General Manager, until he returned sick to UK in Jan 1915.
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1915 Jan 15 Arrives in UK on SS Elmina . Boarded at Sierra Leone, travels 1st class and is a surveyor.
1915 Feb 23. He obtained a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Hampshire Regiment.
1915 May 13. The undermentioned are transfd. from Res. to Regular Bns. as temp. Officers. 12th Hampshire Regt Temp 2nd Lt to be Temp Captain F H W Guard
1916 Oct 23. The day after the bloody battle the 1st Hampshires were relieved in the front line by the 2nd Royal Welsh Fusiliers, and went back to bivouac in Trones Wood. After reaching the wood at 4am, at midday they marched on to Mansell Camp near Carnoy. On the 27th they went to new billets at Meaulte, then 3 days later entrained at Mericourt. They arrived at Arraines – about 13 miles south east of Abbeville – and marched to billets in Merelessart. By this time the Battalion was severely understrength after its losses on the first day of the Somme and 23 October. In terms of officers, the Battalion was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Armitage, and the second in command was Major F.H.W. Guard.
1916 Oct 16. Hamps. R— Temp. Capt. F. H. W. Guard to be acting Maj. whilst serving as Maj. on Hd.Qrs. of a Bn.
1917 Apr 7. Hamps. R.—Temp. Capt. F. H. W. Guard relinquishes the acting rank of Maj.
1917 Jun 7. Appointed temp Major in Royal Scots as 2nd in command 15th Service Battalion Royal Scots
1917 Jul 30. Service Bns. B. Scots. Temp. Capt. F. H. W. Guard (Hamps. R.) to be actg. Lt.-Col. while comdg. a Bn. 15th Battalion Royal Scots
1917 Aug 26. 15th Royal Scots was in the bloody fighting in the attack at Harigcourt. The Battalion sustained around 200 casualties, ‘casualties that were not out of proportion to the tactical advantage gained’, namely new positions which enabled direct observation over the Hindenburg Line.
1917 Oct 21. Service Battalions. R. Scots. Temp. Maj. F. H. W. Guard relinquishes the actg. rank of Lt.-Col. on ceasing to comd. a Bn.
1917 Nov 7. A medical board for "gas poisoning" notes that he has been in hospital for 3 weeks with gas poisoning. They recommend 3 weeks leave in England
1917 Dec 4. Service Battalions. R. Scots. Temp. Maj. F. H. W. Guard to comd. a Bn., and to be temp. Lt.-Col.
1917 Dec 11. Mention in despatches London Gazette.
1917 Dec 28. Gazetted DSO. Temporary Major (Acting Lieut Colonel) F H W Guard (01/02), Royal Scots LG 30450 dated 28/12/1917 Awards the DSO “For distinguished service in the field”
The Regimental History of Royal Scots. ‘The Royal Scots were near the end of their tether, and when the Bosches swarmed down upon them from Croisilles, they began to betray signs of unsteadiness. The breaking-point came when shells from our own guns also rained into the trench; the men, temporarily demoralised, fled rearwards in batches, and only by dint of numerous appeals and threats were Lieutenant-Colonel Guard and Major Warr able to arrest the rout at a trench in the third system of defence, where the shattered battalions were reorganised. Happily the rent created in the line by this withdrawal did not bring about the collapse of the Division, and the other units, after a valiant resistance, also reached a position in the third system in line with the Royal Scots, where the Germans were kept at bay till nightfall’
1918 Guard was still in command during the German “Spring Offensive” in 1918 and during this period that a gas shell landed in his dug-out, compelling his return to the U.K. .
1918 April or May he is posted to North Russia. Guard served initially as C.O. of Force ‘A’ on the Vologda railway, one of his objectives being to push back local Bolshevik forces with an armoured train, work that found him working in close liaison with the French (and later the Americans).
1918 Jun 11. Temp. Lt.-Col. F. H. W. Guard, D.S.O., R. Scots, is transfd. to Gen. List whilst specially empld.
The officer who was placed in direct charge of the train later described how effective and influential Guard’s command had been, describing him as a ‘born guerilla leader’. Certainly Guard possessed the necessary diplomatic skills to bring together a multi-national force, and on one occasion enlisted the assistance of 20 Cossacks, ‘ferocious looking fellows in long dressing-gowns and high black caps, bristling with knives and scimitars’ (By Sea and Land refers). When, later in the year, he was temporarily invalided home, he was sorely missed, the same source stating - ‘There could have been no more serious loss. During the operations that followed the lack of his firm hand on the tiller made itself felt at every hour of the day.’
1918 Oct 14. Leaves Archangel for UK on HMS Attentive
1918 Oct 21. Arrived back in Leith, UK from Russia. He was returned to UK because of rheumatism he contracted in Russia
1918 Nov 5. A Medical board examines him at Caxton Hall
1918 Nov 27. Appointed GSO2 in North Russia
1919 Sep 7. An American history of their Russian Force says ""All patrols must be aggressive," directed a secret order of Col. Guard, the British officer commanding this "A" Force on the railroad, "and it must be impressed on all ranks that we are fighting an offensive war, and not a defensive one, although for the time being it is the duty of everybody to get the present area in a sound state of defence. All posts must be held to the last as we do not intend to give up any ground which we have made good."
1919 Sep 11. The Americans write We had ridden out past the outguard on the armoured train, left it and proceeded along the railway. Remember that first Bolo shell? Well, yes. That thing far down the straight track three miles away Col. Guard, before going to the rear, derisively told Lieut. Danley could not be a Bolo armoured train but was a sawmill smoke stack. Suddenly it flashed. Then came the distant boom. Came then the whining, twist-whistling shell that passed over us and showered shrapnel near the trenches where lay our reserves. He shortened his range but we hurried on and closed with his infantry with the decision in the American doughboy's favour in his first fight. He had learned that it takes many shrapnel shells and bullets to hit one man, that to be hit is not necessarily to be killed.
1919 Jan 1. Gazetted CMG under the heading Archangel. Guard was recommended for the C.M.G., an old handwritten document citing the following deeds: ‘This officer has commanded Force ‘A’ on the Vologda railway since the advance from Isaka Gorka south began. His courage and energy has carried the small force over many a difficulty in the face of the enemy. His tact in organizing his Russian workmen, and with the many nationalities of which his force is composed, has carried him over the rest. The work and anxiety imposed upon him through the superior numbers of the enemy, the vulnerability of his lines of communication through a country which cannot be described as friendly, and numerous difficulties presented by the forest, bogs, rivers and lakes his force has had to traverse, was enormous. The strain on him has been enough to break-down many an ordinary man, but he has kept not only himself going, but also his influence has pervaded the whole force, which has had many examples of his courage to follow.’
1919 Jan 16, Mention in despatches London Gazette (North Russia) from Major-General F. C. Poole (
1919 Jan 30. Guard was also the recipient of a French Brigade Order citation (North Russia) which cited his courage and leadership in the period August-September 1918, and will have led to the award of his Croix de Guerre gazetted 21 Jul 1919.
1919 Apr 10. Letter from Lieutenant Colonel F.H.W. Guard, General Staff, to General Maroushevsky, requesting that forty additional Russians from the Pinega area be trained for the local Artillery Detachment by Captain Whitcombe
1919 Apr 27. He appears to have left Russia permanently. Chief of Staff to Ironside in North Russia. His subsequent services in Russia were subject to further praise, no better example being the glowing testimonial written by Major-General Ironside, C.-in-C. Allied Forces Archangel, on 27 April 1919: ‘Lieutenant-Colonel Guard has served with the North Russian Expeditionary Force since its commencement in the Summer of 1918. As a fighting commander in the early stages, he proved himself capable to the highest degree. He then directed the organisation and training of the Russian National Army until, through the sickness of the Chief General Staff Officer, he was called upon to fill his place. He proved himself an officer of strong character with great power of organisation. He leaves for demobilisation, to my regret, as he has been my standby during many anxious days.’
1919 Jun 7. To GSO 1. Temp Lt Col F H W Guard.
1919 Jul . Lord Rawlinson, on being appointed C.-in-C. North Russia, wrote to Guard in July 1919, pleading with him to return to that theatre of war, because of his ‘complete knowledge of the situation there and of your experience in past operations.’ Guard, sensing the pending closure of the Allied intervention, declined the invitation.
1919 Jul 21. Croix de Guerre London Gazette 21 July 1919, p.9220
He was also awarded the Order of St Vladimir 4th Cl with Swords. Order of St Vladimir confirmed in Army ‘Confidential’ List. After the Russian Revolution, the Confidential List was produced so British service personnel could receive Russian awards for service with the Allied Intervention without the usual process of being Gazetted in the London Gazette, as was the way that permission to receive & wear was normally given. Most of the personnel never received their awards as the White Russian Govt fell before delivery plus a lot that were sent were stolen. . Ray Brough's Book "White Russian Awards"
1919 Aug 17. The undermentioned relinquish their commns. on completion of service: Temp. Lt.-Col. F. H. W. Guard, C.M.G., D.S.O., and retains the rank of Lt.-Col
1920 Oct 25. Joins ADRIC with service no 864. Oddly he joins as T/Cadet
1920 Nov 15. Posted to D Coy in Galway as 2nd in Command. This appears to have been a preemptive move by Crozier prior to Nicol being removed as Coy Commander
1920 Nov 22. Crozier comes to Galway and dismisses the D Company Commander, AP Nichol, for excess drinking (Crozier says). Guard was then appointed D Coy commander in his place. D Coy appear to have been based from October 1920 in Lenaboy Castle, Taylor’s Hill on the outskirts of Galway City. And The Retreat, Salthill (at least no. 3 Platoon were here, but it is only a few hundred metres from Lenaboy Castle, and would just have been to get more accommodation). Prisoners continued to be shot, rightly or wrongly "trying to escape."
1920 Nov 24. Guard was personally escorting Michael Moran, commandant of the Tuam IRA Battalion from Eglinton St to 17th Lancers Barracks when Moron is alleged to have tried to escape. Moran was shot "trying to escape" and died. Moran was being taken under the escort of FHW Guard, T Simmonds and J Lowe. The verdict was that he was shot while trying to escape at Earl's Island.
1920 Nov 26. The worst case at this time was with the two Loughnane brothers were working on the family farm in Shanaglish and were arrested. Nothing was heard of, nor from, the brothers until a week after their arrest when a group of Auxiliaries called to Mrs. Loughnane to inform her that her sons had escaped their capture. Ten days after they had been arrested their bodies were found in a muddy pond near Ardrahan. They appeared to have been tortured before being killed and photos exist of their charred bodies in coffins before burial by their family.
1920 Nov 30 Promoted to Company Commander D Coy
1921 Jan 18. A Crossley tender with 12 Auxiliaries aboard was ambushed near Tuam, and 3 were badly wounded. A search was started for the ambushers, and Guard arrested a man called Thomas Collins at Keelkil. Guard handed the prisoner over to an RIC sergeant Keeney, and when in Keeney's custody the prisoner was shot "trying to escape". The examining RAMC doctor reported 10 bullet wounds to the body
Guard FHW is to the left of Tudor in the photo
1921 Feb 19. Posted back to Headquarters Depot. 2nd in command of ADRIC after Crozier resigned and Wood became commander. ‘During his service with the Division, he has proved himself to be an officer of unusual force of character and resource. His handling of all situations both tactical and administrative has been marked by efficiency, energy and decision. His services are only terminated by the impending demobilisation of the Force arising out of the change in the Irish Government.’
1921 Mar 18 Guard get engaged to CF Barham's sister
1922 Jan 11 "to Holyhead", presumably connected to demobilisation of ADRIC there
1922 Feb 10 Discharged from ADRIC on demobilisation.
1922 Transferred to RAF with the rank of Squadron Leader, and in 1922 went to Iraq with the first detachment of R.A.F. armoured cars, commanding the Basrah section until 1925 - ‘He did great work in the East with his Armoured Car Company, which he infused with his own fine spirit and energy’ (letter of condolence from Sir John Salmond refers). While in Iraq, Guard also qualified for his “Wings” on Bristol Fighters, a subsequent assessment from his course at Hinaidi strongly recommending him for an ‘advanced course of instruction at a flying training school at a very early date.’
1922 Jul 12 Tennis He reached the semi-final of RAF singles
1923 Jan 1. Gazetted CBE, Colonel Frederick Henry Wickham Guard, C.M.G., D.S.O.
1924 Nov 6 He is sitting on a court in Iraq.
1926 Jun 28. Arrives in UK from Bombay on SS City of Poona. He is an RAF officer living in Iraq.
1927 Jun 17. Died Romsey, Hants. As a result of his next appointment, the command of Iraq’s Inland Water Transport, he contracted pneumonia, which was complicated by malaria, and he died back in the U.K. aged 37 years.
1927 Probate to his father
2005. His medals auctioned & sold for £8,800
