SANDERSON, Frederick John
| Service Number: | 134 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 21 August 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Second Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 6th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Violet Town, Victoria, Australia, 1878 |
| Home Town: | Violet Town, Strathbogie, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Violet Town State School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Theological Student |
| Died: | Killed In Action, France, 4 May 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
Morchies Military Cemetery Grave no 8974 |
| Memorials: | Euroa Fallen of Euroa District Honour Roll, Euroa Telegraph Park, Euroa War Memorial, Violet Town A.N.A. Branch No 204 Honor Roll, Violet Town Honour Roll WW1, Violet Town Primary School Honour Roll, Violet Town St Dunstan's Honor Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 21 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1 | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Oct 1914: | Involvement Private, 134, 6th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '8' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Hororata embarkation_ship_number: A20 public_note: '' | |
| 19 Oct 1914: | Embarked Private, 134, 6th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Hororata, Melbourne | |
| 4 May 1917: | Involvement Second Lieutenant, 6th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: awm_unit: 6th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Second Lieutenant awm_died_date: 1917-05-04 |
Frank Sanderson's Military Service
Fred’s youngest brother Francis (Frank) Edwin had an interesting tour of duty during WW1. He had joined the Merchant Navy and was in England when war was declared. In a letter to his parents John and Susan Sanderson he explained how he and a pal tried to get back to Australia to enlist but were unsuccessful. They joined up in England being attached to the Royal Marines Light Infantry.
They were sent to Plymouth where they went through a course of Naval gunnery and boarded HMS Columbella. Here Frank had his first little bit of active service while patrolling around Iceland. There were a few skirmishes and finally the Battle of Jutland. Returning to Plymouth they volunteered for active service in France.
They remained in France for the last months of the war and were eventually shipped back to Australia.
Frank died in an air raid in London during WW2 when he was serving with the army.
© 2016 Sheila Burnell
Submitted 14 April 2016 by Elsa Reuter
Biography
SANDERSON Frederick John 134 2LT
6th Battalion
1889-1917
On 10 February 1885 John George Sanderson, aerated water and cordial manufacturer, lodged a notice in the Violet Town Sentinel thanking his customers and informing them that ‘having got enlarged machinery he is prepared to meet increased demand.’ Later it was thought that his cordial business was taken over by his younger brother Charles when John moved to the gold fields in Kalgoorlie, WA.
John and his wife Susan (nee Davey) had six children of whom Frederick John was the eldest surviving son. An older son, Henry, died the year Fred was born in 1889. There were three sisters, Fanny Elizabeth, Coral May and Isabella Victoria then another son Francis Edwin Sanderson born in 1897.
By 1899 the family had moved back from WA to Violet Town where John George became Pound Keeper. Later they moved to Euroa where John served as the Health Inspector until he retired. He was a staunch patriot during WW1 and worked hard to raise funds for the war effort. He died in 1932; his wife Susan pre-deceased him in 1923.
Fred was engaged in theological studies at St John’s College St Kilda when he enlisted on 21 August 1914, aged 25. He set sail from Melbourne on Hororata to Alexandria, arriving two months later on 20 October, then per Galeka on 25 April the following year he joined the MEF in the second wave of the Gallipoli landing. Ten days after the landing, the 6th Battalion as part of the 2nd Brigade, was sent to Cape Helles to try to take the village of Krithia. Unsuccessful and costly in lives lost, the 2nd Brigade returned to Anzac to help defend the beach head. In August the 2nd Brigade fought at the battle of Lone Pine.
While on Gallipoli Fred was awarded his first stripe and had some narrow escapes. On one occasion a bullet parted his hair and a shell landed between him and his mate without exploding. However his luck ran out when he was wounded on 7 July 1915 and was hospitalised at Mudros. Two weeks later he was fit enough to re-join his unit back on Gallipoli. After the evacuation in December his Battalion was encamped at Tel-el-Kebir where he was promoted to the rank of CPL. In March the following year he embarked for Marseilles on Ballarat where he arrived on 2 April 1916.
The 6th Battalion entrained straight away for the Somme. The Battle for Fromelles had been fought and lost in July; then at Pozieres where the 6th Battalion had its first major action in France, Fred was promoted to the rank of 2LT on 5 August.
He was granted some leave but fell ill and was admitted to the 3rd London General Hospital. When discharged he was sent back to France to re-join his battalion which was fighting in the second battle of Bullecourt.
During intense trench fighting on 4 May 1917 Fred was killed.
He is buried at Morchies Military Cemetery (Row A, Grave No 8)
Service Medals: A Memorial Scroll and Plaque were sent to Fred’s father in 1922
1914-15 Star British War Medal Victory Medal
Memorials: Main Honour Board, Memorial Hall, Violet Town
Violet Town State School Honour Board
St Dunstan’s Anglican Church, Violet Town
Tree No 17 was planted in 1917 by A Peacock
In 2013 a Callistemon - King’s Park Special - was planted by Robert Sanderson.
© 2016 Sheila Burnell
Click images to start slideshow.