MERRETT, Frederick Arthur
| Service Numbers: | V10664, VX119764 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 28 January 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | British Borneo Civil Affairs Unit |
| Born: | Boulder, Western Australia, 3 July 1919 |
| Home Town: | Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Nhill High School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Painter |
| Died: | Annandale, New South Wales, Australia, 19 September 1978, aged 59 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Mona Vale Cemetery, Northern Beaches Council, New South Wales |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 28 Jan 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, V10664 | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Mar 1942: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, V10664, Searchlight Batteries /Companies, embarked Sydney for Port Moresby on board the Macdhui | |
| 27 Nov 1942: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, V10664, Searchlight Batteries /Companies | |
| 28 Nov 1942: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Sergeant, VX119764 | |
| 14 Mar 1943: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Corporal, VX119764, Searchlight Batteries /Companies, embarked Port Moresby for Sydney | |
| 27 Aug 1943: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Corporal, VX119764, Searchlight Batteries /Companies, embarked Townsville for Port Moresby on board the Katoomba | |
| 13 Jul 1945: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Sergeant, VX119764, British Borneo Civil Affairs Unit, embarked Sydney for Morotai on board the J Carrigan en route to Labuan | |
| 16 Dec 1945: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Sergeant, VX119764, British Borneo Civil Affairs Unit, embarked Labuan for Brisbane | |
| 17 Jan 1946: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Sergeant, VX119764 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
One of three brothers (Bill, Fred and Eddie) who served in WWII, Sergeant Frederick Arthur Merrett (Service Nos:V10664/VX119764) served in the Militia (Private with 53rd AA Battery) from 28 January 1941, before enlisting in the ACMF on 4 December 1941 as a Private, serving with Mobile Search Light Batteries (53rd, 34th and 67th) in New Guinea (3 March 1942 - 12 March 1943). Private Merrett was 'in the field' at Port Moresby when he enlisted in the AIF on 28 November 1942. Promoted to Corporal, he served a second tour in New Guinea (27 August 1943 - 29 November 1943) and in Darwin NT (Bombardier; 15 November 1944 - 25 March 1945). Sergeant Merrett then served in Borneo with the Australian British Borneo Civil Affairs Unit (BBCAU) from 13 July 1945 to 16 December 1945, and was attached to the BBCAU at Discharge on 17 January 1946.
Born in Boulder, Western Australia in 1919, Fred was sixth of seven children of Alfred (Alf) Merrett (b1883 in Leeor, Wimmera, Victoria) and Elizabeth Jane Eddy (b1889 in Broken Hill, New South Wales). Alf worked as a Labourer at Broad Arrow via Kalgoorlie before he and Elizabeth married in 1908 in Boulder. The couple settled in the Western Australian Goldfieds - Boulder, Beria via Mt Magnet, Kalgoorlie - where they raised their family and Alf worked as a Labourer and Mill Hand. In the early 1920s Alf and Elizabeth moved their family to Nhill, where Alf was a Shop Hand when he died in 1925.
Fred woked as a Painter in Melbourne before enlisting in the Army in January 1941. In Melbourne in 1942, Fred married Doris Grace Jones (nee Sherwell; b1916 in Melbourne, Victoria). Following his Discharge from the Army, Fred and Doris settled in Melbourne, where they raised their family and Fred worked as a Painter and Carpenter. The couple separated in the late 1950s - Doris moved to Bendigo where she worked as a Cook, and Fred moved to Sydney, New South Wales where he worked as a Carpenter until his death in 1978. Doris died in 1986.