Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

"LATE PTE. F. W. HOLMAN.

Pte. F. W. Holman, who was killed in action in France on August 4, was the youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. W. Holman, of Telowie. Prior to enlisting in July, 1915, he was engaged in farming pursuits at Telowie. He took a keen interest in the affairs of that district, and was an active worker in the Telowie Baptist Church and kindred organizations. He was highly esteemed by a large circle of friends." - from the Adelaide Register 23 Sep 1916 (nla.gov.au)

Written by the great, great niece of Holman

Fredrick William Holman, known as Fred, was the youngest of four sons, James Harold, Ernest Stewart, Andrew Franklin, and Fredrick himself, of Mr William Holman and Mrs Agnes Stuart Holman (née Carmichael). He was born in Telowie, a small location approximately 213 km north of Adelaide in the Southern Flinders Ranges on the 29th of May 1888.

Fred never met his younger brother, Andrew since he sadly passed away at the young age of three months old. Meaning Fred grew up with only two older brothers to guide him.

As he had a small family for the time, Fred was extremely close to his brother, Ernest Stewart Holman, or Ern. The two brothers grew up as best friends and partook in many farming activities to help out the family. The two rode horses around the family’s property with James Harold and helped muster cows and sheep regularly.

Fred was again struck with tragedy before World War One when Ern was fatally injured in a farming accident at the age of fourteen when Fred and Ern were out mustering and a swarm of bees attacked Fred’s two horses. The pair were spooked and wildly pulled Fred and his cart forward, trampled Ern who was riding ahead. Ernest was injured badly and sadly died two hours later, this would have been traumatic for the young Fred being with his brother and experiencing the accident first-hand(Adelaide Observer, 1902).

Before the war, Fred worked as a farmer on the family farm and enjoyed playing cricket. To the left is a photo of the Telowie cricket team in approximately 1905. Fredrick William is the man in the top right and his brother, James Harold (my great, great grandpa) is in the bottom left. Fred was said to have been a fantastic cricket player both batting and fielding and made many friends through the close knit community with his involvement in sport Telowie Cricket Team, early 1900’s.

As well as being an amazing sports man, Fredrick was a truly incredible piano player. He owned his own Grotrian Steinweg Nachf piano and played avidly as much as he could. Imagine being at a family gathering, eating delicious home cooked meals made from fresh farm produce, the older relatives insist on a song. Fred would sit at the piano on a small, slightly perished leather covered stool that has a small creak as it spins, and he would play. Play as if there was nobody watching, his fingers would glide over the keys as the music would flow through the farmhouse, serenading his relatives’ ears. Fred’s relative, Mark Holman (My grandpa) still owns his piano and it is still played today, capturing the memory of Fred forever (Holman. M, 2024).

Mark said ‘In my early childhood there was a piano in my grandpa and grandma’s house. It was in a dark room and never played. In later years it came to my parent’s house where my mother would grace it sombrely on rare occasions. Fred’s piano came to our house in 1974 the year of our marriage. (My) Two daughters learnt to play’ (Holman. M, 2024) Mark wrote a poem titled Fred’s Piano in 1984 about the piano and it’s spirit.

Prior to World War One, Fred fell in love and was engaged to Florence Kathleen Taylor, the sister of Lucretia Elenor Taylor, the wife of his brother James. Fred affectionately nicknamed Florence, Dolly and wrote to her frequently while he was at war. Dolly never remarried after Fredrick William Holman’s death and lived with Lucretia for the entirety of her adult life (Holman. M, 2024).

Fred enlisted for the AIF, joining the 27th Battalion in World War One on the 9th of August 1915 and left to go to an Egyptian training camp on the 12th of January 1916. He landed in Egypt on the 29th of January 1916, and noticed the difference between the Australian and Egyptian economy and legal system, writing ‘The police treat the natives very roughly indeed’(Holman.F,1916).

Training in Egypt was hard, the soldiers would train for eight hours a day, six days a week. They practiced with guns, full gear, and heavy packs, a type of training that was believed to prepare them for the great war. Fredrick watched as many died from pneumonia without getting to fight in the first place. The training never included bomb or grenade practice and many argued that this was not enough practice for the real war. Although this information is not specific to Fred, these conclusions are drawn from information found about the training camps (Training Camps: Egypt, 2017).

When Fredrick arrived in France, he unluckily caught the mumps, a virus similar to chicken pox that created flu like symptoms for whoever experienced it. Fred was forced to spend a small amount of time in hospital, and away from the battlefield (Holman. M, 2024).

Along with the 28th Battalion, Fredrick and the 27th battalion were among the first to arrive at the Somme. As part of the 27th battalion, Fred became good friends with another soldier called Os Lang whom he wrote fondly about in his diary. On the 15th of July, Fred wrote ‘Os and I lay close together to keep warm’(Holman. F, 1916). This paints a picture of how close the two were. Many times, in Fred’s diary, Os was mentioned to have been sending a letter home or eating some provisions (Holman. F, 1916).

The day of the 4th of August 1916 Fred penned ‘Os is leaving his diary with a cousin in case he runs into an accident. I’ll put this in with his so there is a chance of it getting home in case I meet with an accident tonight. We (the 27th) are going over after Fritz to present arms to him. We have been expecting this advance for several days and understand tis tonight, I do not wish for worse than a blighty for a souvenir. Anyway, we came away to give and take hard knocks; we’ve been resting all day, preparing ourselves for strenuous work. I have some splendid mates to go with, so tis OK at Lloyds. The mail is going tonight so have posted one letter home’(Holman. F, 1916).

Fredrick and Os headed off to the battle of Pozieres, clearly concerned of the dangers. Pozieres was a small French town in the Somme and was one of the first involvements of the Australian Imperial Force in World War One. The first division AIF captured Pozieres and Mouquet farm in late July and the 2nd and 4th division continued to battle until the 5th of August 1916. In just seven weeks of fighting, Australia had lost over 23,000 soldiers, of which 6,800 died of wounds (Pozières: The Battle of the Somme, 2024). Eventually, Australia captured and controlled Pozieres and Mouquet Farm, but at what loss? Os Lang survived that fateful day at battle and continued to fight in the war. Thankfully Os arrived home safely after the battles but went blind in his left eye. Sadly, Fredrick’s story was not the same.

Fredrick William Holman was killed in action as a private on the 4th of August 1916, as the news hit Australia, his family was devastated, desperately searching for any belongings he had left. Fred’s family was sent his diary after the war along with a pair of field glasses, 2 wallets, a razor, a pipe in its case, mittens, 17 handkerchiefs, a shaving brush, a soap dish, photos, buttons, a cap comforter, a pair of scissors, a damaged watch, a knife, a brush, a pair of knee guards, a scarf, a bag handle, and a badge (Holman. M, 2024). His grieving family cherished the small belongings they could hold on to. A coin was also given to every family of a deceased soldier as a thank you for their service. Os Lang sent flowers to Fred’s mum Agnes on the 4th of August every year to commemorate his death, a clear sign of the bond between them.

Spirit of the ANZAC

Fredrick William Holman demonstrated the ANZAC spirit in many ways. He left his home and family in Telowie to fight for his new country. Fred endured hardness and danger amongst the first to fight at the Somme and Pozieres. He constantly put himself on the line every day to protect his beloved homeland. This evidence is clear in Fred’s Diary when he writes ‘…I’m as hungry as a hunter’ (Holman. F, 1916). Fred’s actions clearly reflected the ANZAC spirits but mateship and courage are the two that stand out. His diary entries and letters referred to many experiences he shared with his peers during the journey over, training and war experiences. As previously explained, in the diary entry the evening prior to his death, Fred wrote ‘I have some splendid mates to go with, so tis OK’ (Holman. F, 1916). This mateship is again reflected in Fred and Os’ relationship and the grief and guilt Os experienced after Fred’s death. His courage is evident as he continued to fight and protect his home country when clearly, he was scared, this is reflected in the following diary entry. ‘There’s a frightful bombardment on and some return shells whistling back that can be heard, making me nervous (Holman. F, 1916). Despite Fred’s terrifying diary entries, he courageously powered on to battle displaying this ANZAC spirit. Although Fred did not survive the war, his life was an important part of how Australia is shaped today and his legacy lives on, especially in our family.

Reference List

27th Infantry Battalion n.d., vwma.org.au, viewed 30 May 2024, <https://vwma.org.au/explore/units/2>.

Adelaide Observer 1902, ‘FATAL ACCIDENT AT TELOWIE.’, 3 May, South Australia, viewed 30 May 2024, <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/161778915?searchTerm=William%20Holman%20of%20Telowie>.

HOLMAN Frederick William : Service Number - 3157 : Place of Birth - Telowie SA : Place of Enlistment - Adelaide SA : Next of Kin - (Mother) HOLMAN Agnes Stuart 1914, National Archives of Australia, viewed 30 May 2024, <https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=5823152>.

Pozières: The Battle of the Somme 2024, Australian War Memorial, London, viewed 4 June 2024, <https://www.awmlondon.gov.au/battles/pozieres>.

Telowie cricket team n.d., State Library of South Australia, viewed 30 May 2024, <https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/PRG+1489/3/50>.

Training Camps: Egypt 2017, Following the Twenty-Second, viewed 30 May 2024, <https://anzac-22nd-battalion.com/training-camps-egypt/#:~:text=The%20training%20was%20fairly%20rudimentary>.

Interview with Mark Holman, 2024.

Letters and Diary of Frederick Holman, 1915-1916

Biography written by Tilly Schammer from Heathfield High School, attached as a document. Winning entry for 2024 Premier's Anzac Spirit School Prize.