FRAWLEY, Michael Joseph
| Service Number: | 1341 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Driver |
| Last Unit: | 1st to 8th (QLD) Reinforcements |
| Born: | Stanthorpe, Queensland, 1 April 1877 |
| Home Town: | Clermont, Isaac, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Miner |
| Died: | Influenza, Sierra Leone, Sierra Leone, West Africa, 24 October 1918, aged 41 years |
| Cemetery: |
Freetown (King Tom) Cemetery, Sierra Leone Freetown (King Tom) Cemetery, Freetown, Sierra Leone, West Africa |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 13 Feb 1915: | Involvement Private, 1341, 9th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Seang Bee embarkation_ship_number: A48 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 13 Feb 1915: | Embarked Private, 1341, 9th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Seang Bee, Brisbane | |
| 4 Sep 1918: | Involvement Driver, 1341, 1st to 8th (QLD) Reinforcements, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '20' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Bakara embarkation_ship_number: A41 public_note: '' | |
| 4 Sep 1918: | Embarked Driver, 1341, 1st to 8th (QLD) Reinforcements, HMAT Bakara, Sydney | |
| 24 Oct 1918: | Involvement Driver, 1341, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 1341 awm_unit: 4th Australian Machine Gun Battalion awm_rank: Driver awm_died_date: 1918-10-24 |
A Sad Story of the Spanish Flu
Michael Joseph Frawley was born on 1 April 1877 in Stanthorpe, Queensland. He was working as a miner in Clermont when he enlisted on 7 Dec 1914 aged 37. He was a Private in the 2nd Reinforcement to the 9th Infantry Battalion leaving Australia on 13 February 1915. He arrived at Anzac Cove on 9 May 1915 and saw active duty. In March 1916 he transferred to the 49th Battalion and became a Driver with the 13th Machine Gun Company serving in Egypt and France. In March 1918 he returned to Australia for 6 months furlough and on 4 September 1918 he embarked in Sydney for a return to the European front. During the voyage up the coast of Africa he contracted influenza and died on 24 October 1918 aged 41. WW1 ended on 11 November 1918 just 18 days later. Although surviving unscathed for three years during service in the Great War, he succumbed to Spanish Flu. Michael Frawley is buried in the Tom King Cemetery in Freetown, Sierra Leone. _ Anfrew Frawley
Submitted 14 February 2021 by John Phelan
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