Alexander Douglas FRATER

FRATER, Alexander Douglas

Service Number: 771
Enlisted: Not yet discovered
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: 33rd Infantry Battalion
Born: Not yet discovered
Home Town: Not yet discovered
Schooling: Not yet discovered
Occupation: Not yet discovered
Memorials: Inverell & District Memorial Olympic Pool WW1 Honour Roll
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World War 1 Service

4 May 1916: Involvement Private, 771, 33rd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Marathon embarkation_ship_number: A74 public_note: ''
4 May 1916: Embarked Private, 771, 33rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Marathon, Sydney

Alexander Douglas FRATER – 771

Alexander Douglas FRATER, known as Doug, was born on the 26th April 1891
at Toowoomba, Queensland. He died at Inverell on the 31st January 1950 and is
buried at The Inverell Catholic Cemetery, he was 58 years of age.
He was one of 11 children born to Alexander FRATER and Sarah (nee GLOVER).
Doug applied to enlist in the AIF on 11th November 1915 at Inverell. He was
examined medically and his physical description recorded was:
Height: – 5 feet 7 inches,
Weight: – 142 pounds,
Chest: – 35 to 37 inches,
Complexion: – dark,
Eyes: – hazel,
Hair: – black,
Religion Denomination: – Church of England,
Distinctive Marks: – nil.
He was single; his age is shown as 24 years and 7 months. He first gave his next of
kin as Alexander Frater, Father, from Merralong Park at Baan Baa NSW. At the
time he was working at the Arrawatta Cheese Factory as a Cheese maker after
completing studies at Hawkesbury Agriculture College.
Doug was enlisted on the 1st December 1915 at Inverell, NSW and joined the
Armidale Depot Camp. There he was assigned to the C Company of 33rd Battalion
(9th Brigade, 3rd Division) with the rank of Private on the 14th February 1916.
He travelled with the Battalion to the Rutherford Camp, near Maitland during
March to train alongside other units of the 9th Brigade – the 34th, 35th and 36th
Battalions.
After enlistment he married Avis Mary Perkins and his next of kin details were
changed to her. They married on the 3rd April 1916 at Inverell Catholic Church
one month before he departed for England.
The Battalion caught trains to Sydney and embarked aboard the HMAT A74
‘Marathon’ on 4th May 1916. The Battalions destination was Egypt via Albany, West Australia, but that
destination was changed en-route to England via Durban and Cape Town South
Africa.
The Battalion disembarked at Devonport, England on the on the 9th July 1916 and
travelled by trains to the Durrington Camp at Lark Hill, Wiltshire, on the Salisbury
Plains. There they would undergo further training with the newly formed
Australian 3rd Division.
Doug was charged with ‘disobeyence of orders, late on parade’ on the 28th August
at Lark Hill. For this offence he was confined to barracks for 3 days.
On the 21st November 1916 the 33rd Battalion along with the other Units of the
9th Brigade preceded, via Southampton to Havre, France. The 33rd Battalion
arrived at Steenwerck, France on the 24th. The Unit then moved into the trenches
at Chaprelle d’Armentieres on the 27th to get their first harsh experiences at trench
warfare in what was to be a very bitterly cold winter.
This part of the Western Front was commonly called the ‘nursery sector’ because it
was where new units were sent. The rotation was generally 4 to 7 days in the front
lines where the routine included patrols, raids & working parties. Then the same
period out of the front line and they were housed in billets at locations in and west
of Armentieres.
In mid-May the Battalion moved to the front in the south of
Belgium, near Messines, in preparation for the famed battle which
commenced on the 6th June 1917 with the simultaneous explosion
of 19 deep underground mines along a several mile front line. Two
(2) of these mines were on the 33rd Battalion’s portion of the front
line, on the extreme right flank. Doug can through that battle
unscathed.
Doug was with the Battalion on the 16th July 1917, south of
Messines when he was wounded-in-action with a GSW (gun or
shell shot wound) to the breast and left arm and was transferred to
the 1st SA General Hospital at Abbeville. On the 26th July 1917
he was transferred to England aboard the hospital ship ‘St Davis’
and admitted to the Ontario Military Hospital at Orpington with a
compound fracture of left ulna.
While at Orpington, Doug went AWL (absent without leave) from
7pm 30-9-17 until 8pm 1-10-17. For this offence he was
admonished and forfeited 2 days pay. ~~~~~ Compiled from information provided by Michael and Karen Frater 2015

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