HUGHES, Francis James
| Service Number: | 6853 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 1st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Pyramid Hill, Victoria, Australia, 20 January 1891 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Narrandera, New South Wales, Australia, 18 December 1969, aged 78 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Coolamon War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 8 Nov 1916: | Involvement Private, 6853, 1st Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: SS Port Nicholson embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Nov 1916: | Embarked Private, 6853, 1st Infantry Battalion, SS Port Nicholson, Sydney |
Other Wounds
Frank was also wounded in the battles of Hazebrouck (April 1918) and Épehy (September 1918). After this last wound he was still hospitalised in England and was still there when the armistice was signed in November 1918 and he returned to Australia in 1919.
His Certificate of Discharge, issued in Sydney on 5 April 1919, notes that his "Marks" included gunshot wounds on his left hand and left thigh.
Submitted 27 April 2018 by Peter Jones
Battle of Passchendaele
On 27 January 1994, Frank's daughter, Hazel Jones (nee Hughes), recounted a story told to her by her father of one of his experiences on the Western Front:
"Frank was attending to a dying mate, resting on one knee, when another shell exploded. This tore his mate to pieces. A fragment of shrapnel pierced Frank's prayer-book and the impact and explosion threw him backwards. That was the last he remembered until coming-to in the field hospital."
Given this description and what we know of the several wounds that Frank suffered in his roughly 18 months on the front lines, it seems likely that this was his first battle injury on 8 October 1917 as the First Battallion AIF was engaged in the Battle of Passchendaele.
The prayer-book in question, mentioned in Frank's account, and still showing evidence of the shrapnel fragment mentioned, was handed-down and is held by his grandson Peter Jones.
Submitted 27 April 2018 by Peter Jones
Click images to start slideshow.