PRICE, Frederick William
| Service Number: | WX4462 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 13 July 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/28th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | South Perth, Western Australia, 13 September 1911 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Beltman |
| Died: | Busselton, Western Australia, 1 June 1979, aged 67 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
St Mary's Anglican Church Graveyard, Busselton, Western Australia |
| Memorials: | Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 13 Jul 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, WX4462, 2nd/28th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Jan 1941: | Embarked 2nd/28th Infantry Battalion, from Fremantle; disembarked Palestine 2 Feb 1941 | |
| 3 Aug 1941: | Wounded gunshot wound left leg; evacuated to hospital; discharged 20 Oct 1941 and marched out to 2/28, 27 Oct 1941 | |
| 30 Sep 1942: | Imprisoned El Alamein, reported missing in action 27 Jul 1942; officially reported POW 30 Sep 1942; interned various camps | |
| 13 Oct 1944: | Embarked from UK to Australia (prev. Switzerland and Italy); arrived in Australia 16 Nov 1944; entrained at Melbourne 18 Nov 1944 and detrained at Perth 22 Nov 1944; spent several months in Convalescent Depot in Perth prior to discharge | |
| 21 Apr 1945: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, WX4462, 2nd/28th Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Cherilyn McMeekin
Frederick was the third of at least seven children born to Laurence and Jean PRICE. Frederick had five sisters; his only brother Ronald died in infancy, as did the youngest of his sisters.
He enlisted in July 1940 and was in the Middle East by Feb 1941. Within six months he had been wounded in action and spent almost three months in hospital.
Sadly, Frederick would not see his father again; Laurence died in March 1942, aged only 57.
Frederick was captured during the attack on Ruin Ridge, El Alamein, when his battalion was surrounded by enemy tanks. Frederick was a POW on board the Italian transport ship Nino Bixio when it was torpedoed by a British submarine in the Mediterranean on 17 August 1942. The Nino Bixio was transporting Allied POWs from Libya to Italy. Frederick was one of the 122 Australian POWs to survive the incident.
He spent many months in internment camps before being returned to Australia in Nov 1944. He spent some time in the Perth Convalescent Depot, and hospital, before his discharge. Medical advice for his back pain was 'avoidance of wet & cold conditions and heavy lifting'.
Frederick married Barbara 'Biddy' PERRY in 1946 in Perth; they had two children. He applied for a Defence Force Home in 1984. He died in Busselton in south-west WA in 1979, aged 67. Barbara died in 1993, aged 81.
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