William Albert FRY

FRY, William Albert

Service Number: 431
Enlisted: 17 August 1914, Richmond, Victoria
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: 6th Infantry Battalion
Born: Mount Barker, South Australia, 28 January 1892
Home Town: Adelaide, South Australia
Schooling: Not yet discovered
Occupation: Printer/Journalist
Died: Wounds, Egypt, 10 May 1915, aged 23 years
Cemetery: Alexandria (Chatby) Military and War Memorial Cemetery
Memorials: Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Kew War Memorial, Mount Barker Soldiers' Memorial Hospital Roll of Honor
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World War 1 Service

17 Aug 1914: Enlisted AIF WW1, Richmond, Victoria
19 Oct 1914: Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 431, 6th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '8' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Hororata embarkation_ship_number: A20 public_note: ''
19 Oct 1914: Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 431, 6th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Hororata, Melbourne

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Biography

"CORPORAL W. A. FRY

Corporal William A. Fry, of the 13th Battalion, Victorian Infantry, died from wounds in Turkey while engaged in the fierce fighting at the Dardanelles, was born at Mount Barker. His father resides there still. His mother died just when the deceased soldier arrived in Egypt. He was about 23 years old and was a journalist by profession. He served on the papers published at Kapunda, Crystal Brook, Moonta, Port Lincoln, Mount Barker, and at Vardon's, Limited, Adelaide. He volunteered from Cobden, Victoria, and was among the first to offer his services. He was promoted to the rank of lance-corporal at Broadmeadows, and to that of corporal in Egypt. In football, cricket, skating, and other sports he was an adept. As a prominent Methodist, he was greatly interested in social reform. Corporal Fry was a stauch democrat, and the victory of the Labor Party on March 27 gave him great satisfaction. On the day of his death Mr. Harold A. Prider, of Bordertown, received the following note from the fallen hero:—

"I am unable to tell you the date, where we are, or where we are going owing to the strict censorship that has been imposed. I am keeping in the best of health and spirits. Hope to continue in the same mood always. I have some great copy for you, but will have to hang on to it until the embargo is removed. This may be months. I am now orderly room clerk, a position I will have on the field but I have not the slightest idea as to my duties yet. Regards to wife and self.—Yours as of old, Will Fry." - from the Adelaide Daily Herald 26 May 1915 (nla.gov.au)

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