Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Frank Edward Arthur grew up in Suran Terrace in Semaphore, South Australia. He attended Alberton Public School, and after school he became a Dairyman and worked as a Labourer. He was 19 ½ years old when he enlisted in the AIF.

He enlisted in the Light Horse Regiment on the date of 12 June 1915, at Queenstown. He embarked on 14/9/15. 

He served at Gallipoli, Egypt, and on the Western Front.

He got into trouble once, in July 1916 when he was caught without a pass, and he was drunk. He was fined in hours, meaning he had to serve an extra 96 hours. He was promoted to Driver on 8/7/17. 

He was diagnosed with Trachoma, on 9/9/16. Later in the war he got an infection, he was admitted to hospital on the 19/3/18 staying until 6/5/18.

He was discharged from the AIF, due to being medically unfit to continue work due to his Trachoma and returned to Australia 8/8/18.

Tragically he was in a motorcycle crash at Port Adelaide on 8/10/26, with a fractured rib and head injuries. Due to this, he sadly passed away 6 days later on 14/10/26, with a fractured rib, head injuries and pneumonia.

Frank was the son of Gilbert ARTHUR & Bertha Jane HARRIS and was born on the 2nd of May 1896 in Queenstown, SA.

His parents were married on the 21st of August 1890 at the residence of Bertha’s parents, in Queenstown, Pt Adelaide, SA.

His father was the son of Gilbert ARTHUR & Lydia Elizabeth ASHBY and was born on the 3rd of August 1871 in Queenstown, SA.
His mother was the daughter of Richard HARRIS & Mary Ann BEGG and was born in 1869 in St Peter Port, Guernsey, Channel Islands.

Frank was the fourth child born into this family of 7 children.

His mother had arrived in South Australia with her parents and siblings on board the Scottish Lassie on the 31st of December 1877.

His father was a driver and Frank grew up in West Street, Queenstown before the family moved to Swan Street, Semaphore.

Frank joined the Senior Cadets and on completing his schooling gained employment as a labourer.
With the outbreak of WW1 Frank tried to enlist but was found medically unfit due to his eyesight.

At the age of 19, Frank re enlisted into the 1st AIF on the 12th of June 1915 in Keswick and allotted the service number 1366 and posted to Base Infantry at Mitcham Camp.
His parents signed their consent for him to enlist as he was underage.

He was then posted to the Base Light Horse and then the 3rd Light Horse Regiment, 11th Reinforcements, before being posted to the 3rd Light Horse Regiment, 10th Reinforcements.

Frank embarked from Adelaide on board HMAT Ballarat on the 14th of September 1915, disembarked in Suez in mid October and marched Aerodrome Camp in Heliopolis.

On the 13th of November he embarked from Alexandria for the Dardanelles and arrived in Mudros awaiting his transport to Gallipoli.
Whilst here he was hospitalised and on the 14th of December the 3rd Light Horse Regiment arrived in Mudros Bay from Gallipoli

He returned to Egypt and was transferred to Artillery Details before serving in France and suffering from Active Trachoma in both his eyes.
Franks was invalided back to England and embarked on board HT Carpentaria the 8th of August 1918.

He disembarked in Melbourne on the 4th of October and entrained to Adelaide the following day.

Frank was discharged, medically unfit, from the AIF on the 21st of October 1918.

He moved back home to his parents, who had moved to Exmouth Rd, Exeter whilst he was overseas, and he joined the Pt Adelaide RSL Sub-Branch.

Frank married Wilhelmina Jessie MOUNTFIELD on the 19th of November 1919 in St Paul’s Church, Pt Adelaide, SA.
Wilhelmina was the daughter of William John MOUNTFIELD & Ann Norah BROWN and was born on the 28th of February 1896 in Birkenhead, SA.

They made their home in Cannon Street, Pt Adelaide and Frank gained employment as a milk cart driver.

On Saturday August 30th 1921, Frank and his brother Kenneth went to the football at the Alberton Oval and then went to the Alberton Hotel. They stayed here until about 6pm and had 5 serves of rum and after closing they remained in the area until 7pm and then began to walk towards Pt Adelaide along Port Road.

They then crossed the road at the Prince of Wales Hotel and when they got to the wood blocks they walked along the centre of the road for some time.
Kenneth was walking on Frank’s left side and then Frank heard a motor cycle approaching and called to Kenneth “look out”, but the motor cycle struck Kenneth and knocked him down, opposite the Alberton Baptist Church.

Frank was also knocked down and lost consciousness for a time before they were admitted into the Pt Adelaide Casualty Hospital.
Unfortunately, Kenneth died in the hospital from a fractured skull about 2:30am the following morning.

On Friday the 8th of October 1926 Frank was riding his motor cycle down St Vincent Street, Pt Adelaide when he lost control trying to avoid a motor lorry on the corner of
St Vincent and Mundy Streets

He braked hard but struck the driver side front wheel of the motor lorry.
Frank was transferred by ambulance to the Adelaide Hospital where he was diagnosed with fractures of his Breast bone and ribs, multiple contusions and a fractured skull.

Unfortunately Frank developed pneumonia and died 4 days later on the 12th of October 1926.

Frank was buried 2 days later in the Cheltenham Cemetery; Section P, Drive C, Path 34, Site Number 342S.

Military

At the age of 19, Frank enlisted into the 1st AIF on the 12th of June 1915 in Keswick and allotted the service number 1366 and posted to Base Infantry at Mitcham Camp.
He listed his mother, of Swan Terrace, Semaphore, as his next of kin as his parents signed their consent for him to enlist as he was underage.

On the 30th of June he was posted to the Base Light Horse and then on the 16th of August he was posted the 3rd Light Horse Regiment, 11th Reinforcements.
On the 1st of September he was transferred to the 3rd Light Horse Regiment, 10th Reinforcements.

Frank embarked from Adelaide on board HMAT Ballarat on the 14th of September 1915, disembarked in Suez in mid October and marched Aerodrome Camp in Heliopolis.

On the 13th of November he embarked from Alexandria for the Dardanelles and arrived in Mudros awaiting his transport to Gallipoli.
Whilst here he suffered from a Venereal Disease and was admitted into the 24th Casualty Clearing Station.

Whilst Frank was here, on the 12th of December the 3rd Light Horse Regiment received orders to be ready to embark for Imbros and the following day they moved to No.2 Post at 8pm and they began their embarkation on board HMT Abbassia at midnight.

Frank was discharged to the ANZAC Advanced Base in Mudros West on the 14th of December and the same day the 3rd Light Horse Regiment arrived in Mudros Bay at 1pm on board HMT Abbassia from the Gallipoli Peninsula.
They were then transferred to HMAT Karoo and sailed to Egypt the following day.

Frank remained at Mudros until the 24th of December when he embarked on HMT Caledonia and after spending Christmas 1915 on board the transport, he disembarked in Alexandria the following day.

The 3rd Light Horse Regiment was camped at Aerodrome Camp in Heliopolis and Frank marched in to join them, but was attached to details.
On the 30th of December the 3rd Light Horse Regiment rode out and moved to Wadi Natrum to defend the Suez Canal from raiding Senussi Arabs.

Frank remained at Aerodrome Camp for further training and on the 9th of February he was apprehended drunk and Confined to Barracks for 48 hours.
On the 1st of March Frank was transferred to the 1st Light Horse Reserve Regiment in Heliopolis and 2 weeks later he was apprehended drunk and without a pass and fined 10/7 and awarded 96 hours Confined to Barracks.

Frank was then posted to the Camel Corp in Tel-el-Kebir on the 5th of May before being posted to Artillery Detail later the same day.
With a large amount of the Training Battalions now being transferred and based in England, Frank embarked on the 28th of May from Alexandria on board HMS Corsican, disembarked in Plymouth and marched into the Artillery Training Depot in Bulford on the 11th of June.
Whilst here Frank was late to parade and awarded 3 days Confined to Barracks and on another occasion he overstaying his leave by 2 days and was awarded 7 days Field Punishment No.2.

On the 31st of August he was posted to the 5th Division Field Artillery, proceeded to France the same day and marched into the 5th AIBD (Australian Infantry Base Depot) in Etaples.
Frank was posted to the 5th DAC (Division Artillery Column) on the 7th of September, who was in the field near Erquinghem.

The DAC’s were part of the larger ammunition supply chain for the artillery. They collected ammunition from the Army Service Corps Divisional Ammunition Park and transported it to a designated re-filling point.
Each Division had an Ammunition Column to keep ammunition up to the guns by moving it from "Third line" storage up to the Front ("First Line"). It was a mammoth task involving motor and horse drawn transport, heavy and light rail and tramways. Ammunition dumps and transport near the Front Line were high priority targets of the enemy's guns, and later, aircraft.
Horse drawn transport laden with ammunition was a doubly risky business. Horses were vulnerable to all forms of small arms and artillery and the cargo is such that a hit was generally catastrophic.

By the 1st of December they had moved to the Fricourt area where they spent Christmas 1916 and then January 1917 was spent in a Rest Camp.
It was here on the 31st of January that Frank was appointed to the rank of Driver Vice.
A driver "drove" the horses that hauled the ammunition-laden wagon in such a train from the supply depot to the artillery lines.

They spent February and March in the area of Albert and on the 16th of March Frank suffered from Conjunctiva and was admitted into the 18th Australia Field Ambulance and transferred to the for 5th Division Resting Station.
After just over a week here Frank was discharged on the 2nd of April and rejoined his Column the following day near Haplincourt.

On the 2nd of May 1917, Frank spent his 21st Birthday supplying Artillery to the front line for the Second Battle of Bullecourt.

Frank was granted 10 days leave to England on the 26th of June and when he rejoined hi Column on the 8th of July they were located at Frenchencourt.
Three days later they marched to Orville and then continued to march to the Poperinghe area and Brandhoek.

On the 1st of August Frank was transferred to the 14th Field Artillery Brigade and posted to the 53rd Battery at Frezenberg, near Passchendaele.
The Batteries were capable of a range of almost 3.7 miles (6 kilometres) with their 18 pound guns and they fired a range of ammunition including; High Explosive fragmentation, Shrapnel, Smoke, Gas, Star (illumination) and Armour Piercing projectiles.

They remained here until the 8th of September when they marched 35 miles into billets at Nieurlet and went into rest and training before moving to Dickebusch..
In October they were tasked with searching and sweeping at Celtic Wood and by mid November had move to Bailleul.
Their next moved was to Estree, for a rest, where they spent Christmas 1917 before marching into the Verchocq area on the 31st of January 1918.
They then marched to Rumilly, Wavrans and into the Merris area, a distance of 43 miles in 4 days.

It was here on the 4th of February that Frank suffered from Tonsillitis and was admitted into the 2nd Australian Divisional Base Rest Station for 10 days before rejoining his Battery.
The following month Frank was granted 2 weeks leave to England and whilst in England he contracted Syphilis and was admitted into the 1st Australian Dermatological Hospital in Bulford on the 19th of March.

Frank spent the next 4 weeks here receiving treatment before being discharged to the Convalescent Training Depot in Parkhouse on the 15th of April.
He was then transferred to No.1 Command Depot in Sutton Veny on the 7th of May and on the 3rd of June he was admitted into the Group Clearing Hospital suffering from Active Trachoma in both his eyes.
Active trachoma refers to the early, infectious stage of trachoma, a bacterial eye infection caused by Chlamydia trachomatis.

Here his eyes examined and was medically classified C3 (Permanently unfit for Service).
He was discharged to No.2 Command Depot in Monte Vide Camp, Weymouth, on the 9th of July

Frank embarked from England on board HT Carpentaria the 8th of August 1918, disembarked in Melbourne on the 4th of October and entrained to Adelaide the following day.

Frank was discharged, medically unfit, from the AIF on the 21st of October 1918 and awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War & Victory Medals.