Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

SAPPER FREDERICK LESLIE SAINTY (Died of wounds), 1st Field Co. Engineers. Born at Newtown on December 7th. 1897. The youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. J. S. Sainty of  Haberfield. He was educated at Fort Street, and up to the time of eiilistment he was employed at the North Sydney and Manly Electric Sub-stations. On December 11th. 1915 he sailed for Egypt on the R.M.S. “ Mooltan.” and after six months’ training there, he was transferred to the western front, where he was severely wounded in action near Armentieres. He died of wounds on the 20th July, aged eighteen years and seven months.

Frederick Leslie Sainty was born on 7 December 1897 in Newtown, Sydney, being the youngest in a family of twelve children. He grew up in a large household, first being a student at Canley Vale Public School, before entering into Fort Street High School and later switching to Sydney Technical High School, where he finished his education around 1913-1914. Subsequently following that, Sainty gained a position as a junior electrical engineer early on, working at power substations at North Sydney, Narrabeen, and Manly. His early introduction into such a technical profession was a demonstration both of his intelligence and his prominent future prospects.

However on the 20th of August, he applied to the AIF. Despite being a few months away from the age of 18. During the medical examination of his enlistment, he was documented at 5'9 (175 cm) in height, weighing 136 pounds (62 kg), with a fair complexion, blue eyes, and brown hair. Even though he was merely 17 years old, it displays his sense of duty. He was enrolled in the 14th Field Company Engineers as a Sapper, a position that was characterized by extreme responsibility and a great amount of danger.

As a Company Engineer, the work of Sainty  was to aid in the support and carrying out of combat operations through engineering ways of enhancing ally mobility while restricting enemy combatants. This was done through; building and repairing trenches in order to uphold complex trench systems which would provide a strong line of defense in addition to providing a line of fire for infantries; they also constructed all manners of roads, bridges and railways in order to provide an easier means of transporting and maneuvering artillery and supplies whilst also providing additional repairs to damaged infrastructure as a result of damage dealt by shells; they also devoted their efforts into offensive tactics, such as traps in the form of barbed wire entanglements, the demolition of enemy infrastructure and even excavating into enemy territory to set up detonations.

This put Sainty's service in the frontlines regularly, a position from which injury or death was an ever present danger. By the recollection of George Owen, he states, “Some time previous to the 19th July he had been entrusted with the important duty of despatch carrying; also about a week before the fight he had the offer of a position which would have kept him away from the fighting, also which carried two stripes. Thinking as a young soldier it was his duty to go through the fight with his comrades he stayed.” in the days immediately prior to the Battle of Fromelles showing his dedication to staying with his men in loyalty to his comrades.

He was killed in action on 20 July 1916. His precise cause of death cannot be ascertained, with several recounts of his death by the account of others, with all known variations being; dying of wounds according to the official newspaper; dying by machine gun fire, and dying to bomb shells. His remains, as was the case with thousands of men killed in the battle, were never ceremonially retrieved, and his family and community never were afforded true finality.

Despite that loss, the spirit of Frederick Leslie Sainty survived. He was commemorated on a number of honour rolls, namely Fort Street High School, Sydney Technical High School, and the NSW Government Tramways and Railway Boards, and his role as both a student and as a Company Engineer was remembered. His family, in their depth of pride in his character, ensured his story was kept alive. His mother wrote later that he was “A good pianist & very popular. Was a great reader, particularly of historical works. From his childhood he was fearless & on one occasion when only a boy was the means of saving a little boy’s life. In France he acted as a despatch rider. [He] requested the position of Engineers Storeman in order to take part in battle in which he was killed.” Now, over a hundred years on, Sainty's name continues to be remembered on memorials and by family members who are still donating DNA in an effort to find his grave. His existence and sacrifice represent the tragedy of a lost generation of young Australians whose potential was terminated by the first World War, yet whose spirit continues on in the records, recollections, and memorials left by it.