CRAIG, Frank Colin
| Service Number: | Officer |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | Royal Flying Corps |
| Born: | York, Western Australia, Australia, 4 October 1899 |
| Home Town: | Perth, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Pastoralist |
| Died: | Perth, Western Australia, Australia, 22 September 1951, aged 51 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Karrakatta Cemetery & Crematorium, Western Australia Anglican, EA Section, Grave 0043C |
| Memorials: | Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| Date unknown: | Involvement Lieutenant, Officer, Royal Flying Corps |
|---|
Help us honour Frank Colin Craig's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed
Son of Francis CRAIG and Hannah nee ELFORD
Frank was a pastoralist from Western Australia, and enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps and met Miss Birdwood (daughter of General Sir William Birdwood in England. they married at Brompton Parish Chruch in England.
On April 22 1917 he was taken prisoner of war of the Germans.
Colin joined the Royal Flying Corps in England, and was commissioned as an officer. During his training, he met Constance “Nancy” Birdwood, a British VAD nurse whose father, General William Birdwood, held commanding positions over Australian forces during the war. Nancy and Colin fell in love, and Colin wrote to General Birdwood for permission to marry Nancy. These letters are now held in the Autralian War Memorial’s collection. Colin was careful to explain the kind of life Nancy could expect with him after the war. He wanted her to understand the reality of life on a Western Australian sheep station. Before they were able to marry, Colin was posted to France for active service
During a patrol on 22 April 1917, Colin’s squadron encountered enemy aircraft, and his plane was shot down. Colin was reported missing, leading to several anxious weeks for his family and fiancée. General Birdwood made enquiries on behalf of the Craig family, and expressed his sympathy and admiration of Colin in letters to Leslie. Nancy eventually received news that Colin had managed to land his aircraft, despite its rear tail being on fire. He was met on the ground by a German pilot who said, in fluent English, “How do you do, bad luck, can I give you a drink?” The German had lived in England before the war; his American wife wrote to Nancy to assure her that Colin was safe, and that he had become a prisoner of war.
Colin was interned at Freiburg prisoner-of-war camp in Germany. He kept a diary, in which he wrote of an escape attempt in September 1917, during which he and three others managed to evade capture for several days.
Colin Craig (centre), Freiburg prisoner-of-war camp, May 1917, image courtesy Emsley Craig family
Following the armistice in 1918, Colin was repatriated to England and reunited with Nancy. They wed on 3 March 1919, with a guard of honour formed by Australian servicemen. The couple settled in Western Australia, and had three children. General and Lady Birdwood visited Australia several times, their visits covered by newspapers at the time.
Source: https://www.awm.gov.au/learn/memorial-boxes/1/case-studies/craig
Click images to start slideshow.