Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Franks parents were William Henry HAFFENDEN and Phoebe Alice TURNER who married in 1893 in Camberwell, England

Frank & his father William & brother William arrived in Brisbane, Queensland on 27th November, 1911 on the ship Otranto and his Mother Phoebe & other siblings arrived in December, 1912 on the ship Marathon

Four of his brothers served as follows

1. Stanley Jack HAFFENDEN  (SN50641) served in WW1 and also WW2 (SN401493) discharged in 1941

2. Wilfred John  HAFFENDEN (SN383) died of Illness in 1916 in WW1

3. William Henry HAFFENDEN ( SN302) returned to Australia in 1915

4. Leslie HAFFENDEN (SN QX31366) served in WW2 and was discharged in 1944

Frank Haffenden was one of four brothers (only three are listed on the Mount Gravatt Roll of Honour) that enlisted during the course of the war. All four brothers had been born in Windsor outside London. At the time of his enlistment, Frank was 19 and a half years old and gave his occupation as printer.

He nominated his mother, Phoebe Haffenden as his next of kin. Frank had been in the 9th Infantry Citizens Forces based at Dudley Street, Annerley prior to enlistment. Frank and his younger brother Wilfred (see below) enlisted at the same time and were both drafted into the newly formed 25th Battalion, although in different companies. Also in the 25th Battalion was another Mt Gravatt man, James Dykes (see above).

After only a brief period of training at Enoggera, the 25th in company with several companies from the sister battalion, the 26th, marched down Queen Street to Brunswick Street in a farewell parade before embarking at Pinkenba Wharf on the “Aeneas” on the 29th June 1915. Frank and Wilfred arrived in Egypt on 4th August and went into training camps in the desert before being despatched to Gallipoli on 11th September.

The Gallipoli front was relatively quiet during this period with both sides settling down to static warfare after the costly August offensives. Nevertheless, shelling and bombing continued and on 18th October 1915; the 25th Battalion War Diary lists #128 Pte F. Haffenden as wounded by a bomb (a hand grenade). Frank was admitted to the 16th Casualty Clearing Station located on the beach north of ANZAC Cove. He died of his wounds the following day and was buried in the small cemetery adjacent to the CCS. The cemetery would be known after the war as the Embarkation Pier Cemetery.

Frank’s mother was granted a small war pension after intervention by the Commissioner for Repatriation (she was initially refused as she was not a widow) and signed for the 1914/15 Star, Empire Medal and Victory Medal as well as the commemorative plaque and scroll at the end of the war. The family would appear to have moved during the war to Broadway Street, Woolloongabba.