1915-05-01np

He was determined to go to the front, and he did not care whether he was old enough, or had his parents’ permission.

Under a headline reading, “Boy Soldier,” the Hamilton Times carried the following in its May 1, 1915 edition:

“Trumpeter Frank Grover, the sixteen-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Grover, has returned home for the weekend. It will probably be the last time, he sees his parents for many months, in fact he leaves almost immediately for the front.

“Frank, although but a boy, has shown to the world just how strong the cry of duty really is. When the call was made for volunteers, he was one of the first to stand before the recruiting officer and offer his life and services for his country.

“Strong and healthy, he had no difficulty in passing the medical  examiners, and with the 13^th Royal Regiment, he went into training at Valcartier. When orders came to leave for Salisbury Plain, he was right in line, and had got as far as Halifax before his parents interfered, pointing out that he was yet a child. The authorities allowed the lad to come back to Hamilton.

“Frank could not understand why he could not go to the firing line if he wanted to, and in no uncertain terms, he informed his father and mother that they were pretty mean, exclaiming, ‘Just think, you have four sons, each full of life and strength, and you will not give just one of us to our country. Why look at grandfather, he went  through the whole Crimean war, was in the Northwest Rebellion, served during the Fenian raid. He has often told us of the number of times he was under fire, and his stories were not make-ups either, and you know that he never received a scratch.’

“However, all his plea was in vain, he was told that he could not go.

“Then, one morning, before anyone was up, he slipped out of the house and without any breakfast or any money in his pocket, walked to Toronto and there was selected to go with the third contingent. Captain Taylor, of his company, paid a personal visit to Frank’s parents, and explained that the boy was set on going. He promised to look after him, and the consent of the mother and father was given.”¹

¹ “Boy Soldier : But Grover is as Great Enthusiast as Any”

 Hamilton Times.    May 1, 1915.