SLADE, Francis James
| Service Number: | NX837 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 3 November 1939 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/1st Field Regiment |
| Born: | Stockton, New South Wales, Australia, 20 December 1917 |
| Home Town: | Hamilton, Newcastle, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Station Hand |
| Died: | Natural causes, Gunnedah, New South Wales, Australia, 6 February 1992, aged 74 years |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Nov 1939: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, NX837, 2nd/1st Field Regiment | |
|---|---|---|
| 13 Aug 1944: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, NX837, 2nd/1st Field Regiment |
Help us honour Francis James Slade's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Michael Silver
Frank Slade fought through campaigns in North Africa and New Guinea during World War II.
He was born at Stockton, New South Wales, the son of Boer War veteran Alfred James Slade (#1762, 3rd Battalion Australian Commonwealth Horse) and his wife Olive Winifred Weekes. Frank was one of the first to enlist in the AIF when war broke out in 1939. Attached to the 2/1 Field Regiment, he sailed for Palestine in January 1940.
Following desert training, he saw action in the Desert Campaign at Bardia, Benghazi and the siege of Tobruk. The regiment was then sent to Greece and Frank Slade was amongst those who escaped when Greece fell to the Germans.
Returning through Columbo to Australia, he had only two weeks leave after three years at war and was then sent. to New Guinea in September 1942 in the face of the Japanese advance. Contracting malaria in April 1943, he was later returned to Australia and in August 1944 discharged as medically unfit.
In 1945 he married Marie Clare Borthistle (1918-2012) at Gunnedah – they were to have five children. Frank Slade was a prominent member of the Scouting movement and other community groups in Gunnedah. He suffered a stroke in 1989 which severely disabled him, and died at Gunnedah on February 6, 1992 at the age of 74.
Credit: 'Who was Who in Gunnedah' - R.G. McLean
Click images to start slideshow.