WESTBROOK, Francis Edmond
| Service Number: | 1557 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 16 September 1914, Bairnsdale, Vic. |
| Last Rank: | Trumpeter |
| Last Unit: | 2nd Field Artillery Brigade |
| Born: | South Yarra, Victoria, Australia, 1889 |
| Home Town: | Elsternwick, Glen Eira, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Cook |
| Died: | Natural Causes, Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia, 2 December 1976 |
| Cemetery: |
Springvale Botanical Cemetery, Melbourne Cremated remains scattered at cemetery |
| Memorials: | Fremantle Scots Church Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 16 Sep 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Trumpeter, 1557, 2nd Field Artillery Brigade , Bairnsdale, Vic. | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1914: | Involvement 1557, 2nd Field Artillery Brigade , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '3' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Shropshire embarkation_ship_number: A9 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Oct 1914: | Embarked 1557, 2nd Field Artillery Brigade , HMAT Shropshire, Melbourne | |
| 10 Jan 1920: | Discharged AIF WW1, Trumpeter, 1557, 4th Battery FAAIF |
Help us honour Francis Edmond Westbrook's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
Son of Alfred Edmund WESTBROOK of Cole Street, Elsternwick, Victoria and Annie Beatrice nee BRADLEY of Star Street, Victoria Park East, Western Australia
Made a name for himself as the author of a collection of war poems, 'Anzac and After'.
Biography contributed by Helen Harmer
Francis Edmond (Frank) Westbrook was born in South Yarra, Victoria in 1889. He was 25 years 5 months old when he enlisted, and a cook. He first gave his father as next of kin, but this was changed after he married in Salisbury. He was described as being 5 feet 4¾ inches tall, with a chest measurement of 33 – 36 inches, dark complexion, brown eyes and brown hair. He gave his denomination as Methodist. His mother was well-known IWW activist and prominent anti-conscription speaker Annie Beatrice Westbrook.
Frank enlisted on the 16.9.14 with Service Number 1557 and was appointed Trumpeter with the 4th Battery FAAIF. He embarked on the 21.10.1914. He was then appointed Gunner on the 1.3.15 and his unit took ashore the first gun at Gallipoli. On the 1.11.15, he was taken to the 1st Field Ambulance at Mudros with diarrhoea. He served with the 4th Battery, 2nd AFA and on the 4.3.16 transferred from Abbey Wood to Monte Video Weymouth. On the 25.10.16 he was taken on strength of permanent establishment at No 1 Com Depot. On the 9.5.17 he went AWL for a day. On the 15.6.17 he marched out to the 4th AFA. He was sanctioned for overstaying leave on the 16.8.17. On the 21.3.18 he married Winifred Phebe Eggleton at the Baptist Church, Broun St. Salisbury. Her father was a piano tuner. They eventually had 4 children. On the 6.11.18 he proceeded to England on Special leave of 75 days, which was extended to the 25.1.19. From 7.4.19 to 7.10.19 Frank was granted leave with pay to attend H Harris & Sons of Winchester St, Salisbury to study motor engineering. Frank returned to Australia on the Marathon on 7.11.19, disembarked on the 26.12.19 and was discharged on the 10.1.20. He was living in Fitzroy in 1967 when he applied for the Anzac Medal and Medallion. Frank gained a reputation as a war poet. In the collection of his poems, 'Anzac and After', published in 1916, he makes the dedication "To my father. My counsellor, comrade, and dearest companion this little book is affectionately dedicated." He has been described as a ‘working class hero’, and worked various country jobs, such as rover, shearer, and farm labourer. Some critics believe he is the most underrated war poet of WW1. His poem, Dawn was written while waiting to land at Gallipoli and begins:
“The plash of the salt waves awash phosphorescent,
The outlines of hills grim and mystic and grey,
The hush of the dawn ere the night curtain vanish,
And morn brings the light of this fame-laden day.
The wave-bitten stretch of the grey sandy beaches;
The beaches of Anzac the foreshores of death,
The blood of a thousand of braves soon to bleach them,
The foretaste of hell in the shell's fiery breath.”
Frank died on the Second of December 1976 aged 87 years in Hawthorn, Victoria and his ashes scattered in the Springvale Botanical Cemetery, City of Greater Dandenong, Victoria.
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