CRIDLAND, Frederick
| Service Number: | 1628 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 14 February 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 53rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Ide Village, St Thomas, Devon, England, 21 April 1880 |
| Home Town: | Bathurst, Bathurst Regional, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Erskineville Public School, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Fettler-Railways |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Flers, France, 25 October 1916, aged 36 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" remembered on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Picardie, France. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Bathurst War Memorial Carillon, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Pyramul Upper Public School Roll of Honour, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 14 Feb 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private | |
|---|---|---|
| 14 Apr 1916: | Involvement Private, 1628, 53rd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '19' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Ceramic embarkation_ship_number: A40 public_note: '' | |
| 14 Apr 1916: | Embarked Private, 1628, 53rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ceramic, Sydney |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
Frederick Capplestone CRIDLAND, (Service Number 1628) was born on 21 April 1880 in Devonshire, England. He commenced work with the NSW Railways in the Per-Way Branch as a labourer in the Western Division in July 1909. In 1910 he was a fettler between Nyngan and Bourke and in 1913 between Narromine and Peak Hill. A cryptic entry on his record card probably indicates that he was released to join the Expeditionary Forces on 13 February 1916. Certainly, he signed his Attestation Papers at Bathurst the next day.
He left Australia through Sydney aboard HMAT ‘Ceramic’ on 14 April 1916.
He was killed in action of 25 October 1916, at the Somme. While in a reserve trench at Flers, he was hit by a shell and killed instantly. According to an eye-witness account by his mate, Private B S R Croaker (1629), ‘he was terribly knocked about’.
Submitted 8 June 2023 by John Oakes
Biography contributed by Geoffrey Gillon
He was 36 and the son of Henry James and Ellen Cridland. Birth registration indicates middle name of Copplestone
Births Jun 1880 CRIDLAND Frederick Copplestone
St. Thomas 5b 74
1881 census- Ide Village- St Thomas, Devon, England
H J Cridland Head 28 Topsham, Devon, England
Ellen Cridland Wife 25 Ide, Devon, England
Frederick Cridland Son 0 St Thomas, Devon, England.
Address-265 Peel Street, Bathurst, New South Wales
Next of kin Mother, Mrs Ellen Cridland, 265 Peel Street, Bathurst, New South Wales
Enlistment date 14 February 1916 Private 53rd Battalion, 2nd Reinforcement.
nit embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A40 Ceramic on 14 April 1916-he was then 35.
Biography contributed by John Oakes
Frederick Capplestone CRIDLAND (Service Number 1628) was born on 21st April 1880 in Devonshire, England. He commenced work with the NSW Railways in the Per-Way Branch as a labourer in the Western Division in July 1909. In 1910 he was a fettler working on the line between Nyngan and Bourke and in 1913 between Narromine and Peak Hill. He was released to join the Expeditionary Forces on 13th February 1916. He signed his Attestation Papers at Bathurst the next day.
He left Australia from Sydney aboard HMAT ‘Ceramic’ on 14th April 1916 and arrived in Port Said (Egypt) on 16th May. During the voyage, on 11th May, he had been disciplined for ‘Conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline, i.e. Gambling’. This resulted in 96 hours detention. After two months further training in Egypt he embarked at Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force in France. He arrived in Southampton (England) on 9th August. He joined the 53rd Australian Infantry Battalion in France on 30th September 1916
He was killed in action on 25th October 1916, at the Somme. While in a reserve trench at Flers, he was hit by a shell and killed instantly. According to an eye-witness account by his mate, Private B S R Croaker (1629), ‘he was terribly knocked about’, and by Lance Corporal W H Smith (4851) ‘….he got the back wash of the shell, and it blew his brains out,….’
He was buried by the Pioneers that night, but the location is lost. Because he has no known grave, he is remembered on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Picardie, France.
- based on notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
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