JARVEY, Frank Charles
| Service Number: | 476 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 9 January 1916, An original member of B Company |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 36th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Jersey, Channel Islands, 6 February 1872 |
| Home Town: | Paddington, Woollahra, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Confectioner |
| Died: | Killed in action, France, 13 March 1917, aged 45 years |
| Cemetery: |
Cite Bonjean Military Cemetery, Armentieres Plot VII, Row B, Grave No. 34. NEVER FORGOTTEN |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 9 Jan 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 476, 36th Infantry Battalion, An original member of B Company | |
|---|---|---|
| 13 May 1916: | Involvement Lance Corporal, 476, 36th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Beltana embarkation_ship_number: A72 public_note: '' | |
| 13 May 1916: | Embarked Lance Corporal, 476, 36th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Beltana, Sydney | |
| 13 Mar 1917: | Involvement Corporal, 476, 36th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 476 awm_unit: 36th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Corporal awm_died_date: 1917-03-13 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Frank Charles was born in Jersey, Channel Islands. He came to Australia when he was 11 years of age in 1884. He married to Rachel Dobson in Sydney during 1895. They had a son, Francis Oscar Jarvey, born very soon after.
During 1916, the son enlisted at 21 years of age, a few months after his father, and joined the 13th Battalion.
Frank arrived on the Western Front during late 1916 with the 36th Battalion. He was promoted to Corporal shortly before his death in March 1917.
An eyewitness to his death said “I knew Frank Jarvey Cpl of gunners, very well as we were always mates. He was killed instantaneously, during the attack at Armentieres in March. A raid was made to bomb the Germans out of their dug outs and to bring back prisoners…Cpl Jarvey was with his gun team firing the guns when a Whizz bang came over and he was killed…”
And another “He was a Corporal. He has a son in another battalion. He was about 40 and the bravest in the battalion”.
And another, “He was of middle height, with a rather spare figure, was usually clean shaven, with hair turning grey. I should say he was over military age, as he had a son fighting in France. I might say that Corporal Jarvey was very much esteemed for his amiable qualities as well as for his ability, by all the comrades who knew him.”
And another, “He was killed by a shell in the trench at Houplines as he was working a Lewis Gun during a raid made by us on the Germans. He was shot through the back and only lived a few minutes. He was buried in Bon Jean Cemetery, and I have seen his grave, and it is marked by a cross. He was friend of mine and very much liked by all.”
Frank had lowered his age on enlistment by about 4 years as he was 45 at the time of death however he put his age at 39 on enlisting (just under the 40 years).
His son, 6277 Private Francis Oscar Jarvey 13th Battalion was captured by the Germans at Bullecourt on 11 April 1917, only a few weeks after his father had been killed. Indeed, there is a copy of a letter in his Red Cross file dated 11/4/17 (the day he was captured) informing him his father and been killed in action. Young Francis was eventually repatriated to England in late 1918 and returned to Australia during March 1919.
The father also had two brothers, Gustavus Gifford Jarvey and St Helier Gifford Jarvey, who served in the AIF and returned to Australia.