HANSEN, Frank
| Service Number: | 4234 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 2 August 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Gunner |
| Last Unit: | 8th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Caulfield, Victoria, Australia, 22 April 1889 |
| Home Town: | Caulfield, Glen Eira, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Gardener |
| Died: | Killed in action, Belgium, 1 August 1917, aged 28 years |
| Cemetery: |
Perth Cemetery (China Wall), Ypres Plot II, Row B, Grave No. 30. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 2 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 4234, 8th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 29 Dec 1915: | Involvement Private, 4234, 8th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Demosthenes embarkation_ship_number: A64 public_note: '' | |
| 29 Dec 1915: | Embarked Private, 4234, 8th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Demosthenes, Melbourne | |
| 1 Aug 1917: | Involvement Gunner, 4234, Third Ypres, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 4234 awm_unit: 102nd Australian (Howitzer) Battery awm_rank: Gunner awm_died_date: 1917-08-01 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Frank Hansen was the son of Hans and the late Margarita Hansen of Caulfield, Victoria. He was one of five brothers who enlisted and served in the AIF during the Great War.
His father, Hans Johan Hansen, came to Australia from Denmark during 1863. Hans married in Victoria during 1872 and was operating a market garden there with his sons.
Frank’s brother, 1401 Sergeant Lawrence Hansen 1st Australian Field Artillery Brigade was killed in action in Belgium 30 September 1917, aged 30. The brothers had served together for much of the war in the 2nd Field Artillery Brigade and died within two months of one another.
A letter was published in the Brighton Southern Cross regarding the death of Frank Hansen during October 1917. “Mr. H. Hansen of Koornang Road, East Caulfield, has received the following particulars regarding his son, Gunner F. Hansen who was killed on August 1st. Lieut. S. G. Friend wrote, “Two days ago I was detailed to go forward with the infantry during an attack. It was necessary for me to take several men, and your son, No. 4234, Gunner F. Hansen was among the picked men. It may be considered an honour to be picked for such a party, for assuredly I took with me the most reliable men I could get. The attack was made, and your son had been sent back with despatches several times, a work worthy of praise. On the. following day, the 1st of August, we were relieved, and were returning to our Battery, when the man he was walking with was killed. Your son then went round to this other man's Battery to inform them of what had happened, when he himself was killed. I shall inform his brother, who, I believe, is in our Ammunition Column. I can honestly say that the loss of this man has been keenly felt both by the officers and men of this Battery. Gunner Hansen was a man whom we all looked upon as being one whom we could trust to carry out anything in connection with our work. You have my sincere sympathies.”
In Frank Hansen’s Red Cross missing and wounded file a Sergeant stated “…”Gunner Hansen went forward with an Officer as a runner and did some tremendously good work under very heavy fire, as much so that the Officer had made up his mind to recommend him for distinction, but on his way back he stopped and was talking to some 3rd Btty. F.A.B. chaps and was killed.” He added that Hansen was killed by a 5.9” shell.
Frank Hansen’s other three brothers, Tom, Alf and Fred, all returned to Australia during 1919.
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