DREW, Frank Napier
| Service Number: | 542 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 3 November 1914, Morphettville, South Australia |
| Last Rank: | Trooper |
| Last Unit: | 9th Light Horse Regiment |
| Born: | Albany, Western Australia, 5 January 1890 |
| Home Town: | Fowlers Bay, South Australia |
| Schooling: | St Peter's College, Adelaide, South Australia |
| Occupation: | Station Overseer |
| Died: | Died of wounds, At sea (HMHS Delta), 8 August 1915, aged 25 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Coorabie War Memorial, Coorabie and District WW1 Roll of Honor, Hackney St Peter's College Fallen Honour Board, Lone Pine Memorial to the Missing, St Peters All Souls Anglican Church Honour Board WW1, St Peters Heroes War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 3 Nov 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 9th Light Horse Regiment, Morphettville, South Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 Feb 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 542, 9th Light Horse Regiment, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '2' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Armadale embarkation_ship_number: A26 public_note: '' | |
| 12 Feb 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 542, 9th Light Horse Regiment, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1 | |
| 7 Aug 1915: | Wounded AIF WW1, Trooper, 542, 9th Light Horse Regiment, The August Offensive - Lone Pine, Suvla Bay, Sari Bair, The Nek and Hill 60 - Gallipoli, GSW to head, face and skull sustained at Walkers Ridge. Evacuated by HS to Mudros, however died of his wounds en-route the next day 8 August 1915 and was buried at sea. | |
| 8 Aug 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Trooper, 542, 9th Light Horse Regiment, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 542 awm_unit: 9th Australian Light Horse Regiment awm_rank: Trooper awm_died_date: 1915-08-08 |
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"THE LATE PTE F. N. DREW.
Mr. C. Drew, of Marlborough street, College Park, received on Thursday morning a telegram from the military authorities, stating that his only son, Frank Napier Drew, was killed at the Dardanelles on August 8. Pte. Drew was 25 years of age. He was a student at St. Peter's College for a number of years, and took a keen interest in manly sports. In expressing his regret at the sad news on Thursday evening, Canon Girdlestone remarked that Pte. Drew, was highly popular at St. Peter's College, which he attended from 1902 until 1908. After haying left the institution, Pte. Drew went to Mr. George Murray's station, near Fowler's Bay, to gain pastoral experience, and proceeded thence to Adelaide to join the 9th Light Horse Regiment, 3rd Light Horse Brigade, under the late Col. Miell. He was a first-class horseman, and as an athlete was a veritable wonder, as the following record of his achievements in his college days shows:— Won the school championship (running) in 1906 and 1908, and the college cup in 1906 and 1907; intercollegiate junior champion in 1904; won the 100 yards in 1906, 1907, and 1908, the 220 yards in 1907 and 1908, and the intercollegiate 440 yards in 1907 and 1908. Pte. Drew captained the team in intercollegiate contests from 1900 until 1908. In addition, he was a member of the first cricket eleven in 1908, and a member of the games committee in 1908."- from the Adelaide observer 28 Aug 1915 (nla.gov.au)
From the book Fallen Saints
Frank Napier Drew of St Peters, Adelaide was born at Albany, Western Australia in 1889. While at the School, he was an enthusiastic cricketer, a member of the cadet unit, extremely popular with his peers and one of the finest runners that ever attended the School.
He went to the West Coast of South Australia in 1908 and for five years was the overseer on Mr George Murray’s Yalata Sheep Station near Fowlers Bay, where he made many good friends and was a highly respected member of the rural community.
During a visit to Adelaide, he suffered a bout of appendicitis and considering the times and lack of health facilities in the bush was probably very lucky to have been in Adelaide and close to a major hospital when the pain struck. [i]
In November 1914, he joined the 9th Light Horse Regiment at Morphettville Camp as a reinforcement and at the end of July was posted to A Squadron.
Following extensive training in Egypt with the other regiments of the 3rd Light Horse Brigade they proceeded to Gallipoli and on landing at Anzac in late May were attached to the New Zealand and Australian Division.
The 9th Light Horse were in a support role at the Nek on 7 August but still sustained a number of casualties one of whom was Trooper Frank Drew.
He suffered a fractured skull and multiple wounds to the neck, face and head and after evacuation to the Hospital Ship Delta died there the following day; he was 25 years of age.
On Tuesday 17 August 1915, Frank’s parents received a letter from him in which he explained how he had spent the past fortnight in the trenches and was looking forward to soon being away from the firing line on rest. Two days after reading their son's last letter, they received the news he had died of wounds on 8 August 1915. [ii]
[i] St Peter’s School Magazine - W K Thomas & Co, Adelaide, August 1915, p. 68
[ii] National Archives of Australia: B 2455, Drew Frank Napier / 3521899, viewed 8 March 2006
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