Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

His Bother,  Company Sergeant Major William James Pearce Carr of the 27th Battalion Killed in Action two days earlier on 8 August 1918 

Biography on Fred Pearce Carr

Temporary Company Sergeant Major Fred Pearce Carr was born on the 7th of February 1893 and lived on Ward Street, North Adelaide in South Australia. Before enlisting to fight and serve during World War 1, Fred Pearce Carr worked as a labourer.  

Carr was a 5ft6in man with fair skin, blue eyes and brown hair. His older brother, William James Pearce Carr, who also enlisted, was a tall man who stood at 5ft9in feet tall.  

Before leaving to serve in World War One, Carr nominated his next of kin to be his mother, Eliza Carr. His mother lived in North Adelaide as well. However, they did not live in the same house at the time he left.  

He enlisted to fight in World War 1 on the 2nd of February 1915 as a private in the 27th battalion. The 27th battalion consisted of fellow South Australians. After completing months of hard work and training, he set sail from Alexandria and headed for ANZAC Cove to fight in the battle of Gallipoli. Unfortunately, only two months after arriving, on the 3rd of December, he contracted a painful sickness called jaundice. This illness causes the skin and eyes to turn into a yellow colour which sent him to hospital on the 11th of December in Heliopolis. He did not return to Gallipoli as he had to stay in the hospital for an extra-long time.

Fred was at last released from the hospital on the 4th of January. He then stayed at a base in Cairo. He was then charged a few days later, on the 11th of January for neglect of duty. Unfortunately for him, due to his intense sense of fear that leads him to neglect an act of duty his payment/award was taken away from him for a period. 

Two months later, on the 5th of March 1916, Fred was finally fit and ready to re-join his battalion. Soon afterwards the battalion travelled to France where he was promoted to Corporal. After a short period of leave in England, Fred returned to duty and fought in the battle of Pozières.  

The battle of Pozières took place in France. Fred was involved in the second division with the 27th battalion. The second division went into battle on the 29th of July 1916. Disastrously within a few days, a horrific attack came amongst the second division resulting in many casualties by the 7th of August. The deadly attack happened overnight on the 4th of August. Germans came after the windmill the Australian and British soldiers had worked so hard to gain. Shells and guns were shot at rapid-fire causing, thousands of deaths and casualties including, Vice Corporal Fred Pearce Carr. Thankfully Fred was only injured on this night, suffering a gunshot wound to his chest. The next day he was sent to a hospital in France to get treated for his wound. Sadly for Fred, on the 15th of August, his gunshot wound was not improving. He then got put on the list to be transferred to England to seek better medical treatment. The next day, he embarked for England. After he gained a full recovery, he was granted furlough in England from the 23rd of September to the 9th of October.    

After months without fighting a battle with the 27th battalion, he returned to battle on the 12th of February. On the 3rd of March 1917, he was promoted to Sergeant. He served with the 27th Battalion through much of the fighting of 1917 but at the start of October was sent to a training battalion in England.

On the 20th of December, he was admitted from England to prepare to fight again with his original battalion, the 27th. He re-joined his battalion on the 25th of December, Christmas day. He was granted leave on the 26th of January 1918 and went to England. He later returned to France on the 12th of February. On the 24th of March 1918, Fred was promoted again for the final time before his death, serving as Temporary Company Sergeant-Major. This role is extremely important. Whoever takes on this role is treated with a great deal of respect from their soldiers.

Fred Pearce Carr was killed in action on the 10th of August 1918, in fighting near Villers-Bretonneux. Red Cross volunteers received conflicting reports of his death but the most likely story is that he was killed instantly by a German shell. While his remained were buried, his grave could not later be located. His brother had been killed in action two days before.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Adfa.edu.au. (2016). Details. [online] Available at: https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=46951.

archives.sa.gov.au. (n.d.). Military and War | State Records of South Australia. [online] Available at: https://archives.sa.gov.au/finding-information/discover-our-collection/other-topics/military-and-war.

recordsearch.naa.gov.au. (n.d.). Session expired | RecordSearch | National Archives of Australia. [online] Available at: https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=3207657&isAv=N [Accessed 10 Mar. 2021].

sarcib.ww1.collections.slsa.sa.gov.au. (n.d.). Fred Pearce Carr | South Australian Red Cross Information Bureau. [online] Available at: https://sarcib.ww1.collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/soldier/fred-pearce-carr [Accessed 16 Mar. 2021].

Vwma.org.au. (2019). Australian Soldiers, Memorials and Military History. [online] Available at: https://vwma.org.au/.

www.awm.gov.au. (n.d.). AWM4 23/44/36 - August 1918. [online] Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1343984 [Accessed 10 Mar. 2021].

www.catalog.slsa.sa.gov.au. (n.d.). Advanced keyword search — State Library of South Australia. [online] Available at: https://www.catalog.slsa.sa.gov.au/search/X?SEARCH=(Fred%20Pearce%20Carr)&searchscope=1&SORT=D.