BATTAMS, Frederick Stanley
| Service Number: | 2873 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 50th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 18 July 1917, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Ploegsteert Wood Military Cemetery |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Broken Hill War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 6 Nov 1916: | Involvement Private, 2873, 50th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '19' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Afric embarkation_ship_number: A19 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 6 Nov 1916: | Embarked Private, 2873, 50th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Afric, Adelaide |
How he went to war
Before I start I would like to say that my information that I have found has all come from my grand Mother
When he was a kid he lived in a metal shed with his parents and uncle. Every day before he went to school he set up trap to try and catch any animals and on the way home he would check them to see if he got anything. At school he wasn’t the smartest kid often getting there late because he lived so far away.
A few years later him and his friends started to steal different stuff from food to jewels. One time he robbed a jewels store and on the way out he decided to give a bracelet to a little girl on the way out but as he was leaving he and his team was found by the police. In court the judge said “ you are the worst criminal in South Australia “ his sentence is unclear to me but I do know that 2 years after going to prison he was sent to war in Belgium fighting in the trenches.
Fredrick Battams is my grand mothers uncle but even though he was a criminal we still remember him over 100 years later.
Submitted 22 March 2025 by Marco Ricci
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