Russian Medal for a Luton Soldier

Star of Order of St. Anne [Wikimedia]

Friday 9th March 1917: Bombadier Frederick Barrett of 22 Jubilee Street, Luton, is enjoying a rest after returning home from Russia where he was awarded the Order of St. Anne for services rendered to the Russian Government. Before the war he worked for manufacturer Roland Brown in High Town Road, and was well known locally as a cricketer and footballer. He enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery on the 14th August 1914 and was drafted to France in March 1915, fighting at Neuve Chapelle, Hooge and Loos. He was wounded in the arm during the Battle of the Somme, resulting in four months in a Bristol hospital. He returned to France but was recalled to England three months later before being sent to Russia.

Source: Luton News, 8th March 1917