BARDWELL, Francis Edmund
| Service Number: | 593 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 1 July 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 31st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Kew, Victoria, Australia, 20 October 1884 |
| Home Town: | Brunswick, Moreland, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer, Electrician- Railways, Iron foundry worker |
| Died: | Carcinomatosis, Eltham, Victoria, Australia, 8 November 1970, aged 86 years |
| Cemetery: |
Altona Memorial Park, Victoria Memorial ID - 133350873 |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 1 Jul 1915: | Enlisted | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Nov 1915: | Involvement Private, 593, 31st Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '16' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Wandilla embarkation_ship_number: A62 public_note: '' | |
| 9 Nov 1915: | Embarked Private, 593, 31st Infantry Battalion, HMAT Wandilla, Melbourne |
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Francis Edmund Bardwell was wound in action in France, gun shot wound to the left arm 21/7/1916. He was returned to Australia as he was seriously ill. His whole life he had shrapnel in his arm and is thought to have died in around 1970
Biography contributed by Peter Bardwell
Prior to enlisting, Francis played football and cricket in the local competition and once had to swim across the flooded Upper Traralgon Creek on his way to playing football.
Francis farmed on steep land at LeRoy along the Upper Traralgon Creek before enlisting in 1915 at the age of 31.
Sometime after his Battalion arrived in Africa, he was shot in the chest, the bullet hitting a locket in his breast pocket which saved his life. The locket contained a picture of his sister.
Later in July, Francis was shot in the arm/ elbow during the battle of the Somme. He was on the critical list for a while but survived. Medical personnel wanted to amputate his arm but he refused.
Prior to his Battalion being deployed to France he had received in the mail a pair of knitted socks from a lady back in Melbourne. Friends of the lady had persuaded her to include her name (Florence) and address with the socks.
Once he was well enough, Francis returned to Melbourne at the end of 2016 to further recuperate from his injury.
In August 2017 a welcome back function for Francis was held by the LeRoy community.
At around this time Francis reached out to Florence and they started dating. They married in Nov. 1918, moving to Burnley and later to Brunswick to live.
Their first child Marjorie was born in 1920. In the following years 2 more daughters and 2 sons were born.
Francis, in around 1930, succeeded in being alloted 212 acres at Paaratte near Timboon to farm as part of the Heytesbury Settlement Scheme.
In April 1932 Francis, playing for a Port Campbell Cricket Club team, made 31 and took 1 for 9.
Francis's family eventually moved back to Brunswick in May 1933.
According to Marjorie, Francis retired from work at the age of 71 (still playing the odd game of cricket). The family moved to Eltham and he built his own house, with his eldest son drawing up the house plans.
After Francis' death, the locket that saved his life was donated by Marjorie to the Victorian War Memorial.
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