LAWRENCE, Francis John
| Service Number: | 3258 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 1 November 1915, Enlisted at Royal Agricultural Society Showgrounds, Moore Park, Sydney. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 55th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 18 April 1895 |
| Home Town: | Redfern, City of Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Tramway Workshop Worker |
| Died: | Died of wounds, France, 27 July 1916, aged 21 years |
| Cemetery: |
Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery, Souchez Plot XVI, Row C, Grave No. 12 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 1 Nov 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3258, 17th Infantry Battalion, Enlisted at Royal Agricultural Society Showgrounds, Moore Park, Sydney. | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Dec 1915: | Involvement Private, 3258, 17th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Suevic embarkation_ship_number: A29 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Dec 1915: | Embarked Private, 3258, 17th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Suevic, Sydney | |
| 27 Jul 1916: | Involvement Private, 3258, 55th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 3258 awm_unit: 55th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1916-07-27 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by John Oakes
Francis John LAWRENCE, (Service Number 3258) was born on 18th April 1895 in Sydney. He commenced work with the NSW Tramways as a cleaner of electric trams at Ultimo Depot on 26th February 1912. This was a permanent position. However, in December he took up an electrical mechanics apprenticeship at Randwick workshops. This position was designated as temporary and it may have only lasted until May 1913, when Lawrence is shown as a shop boy. It was from this position that he was released on 17th October 1915 to join the Expeditionary Forces.
He enlisted at the RAS Showgrounds (Moore Park in Sydney) on 1st November 1915. He described himself as a labourer and gave his father living in Redfern as his next of kin. He had had two years’ experience in Senior Cadets and two years’ army service.
Lawrence left Australia from Sydney aboard HMAT ‘Suevic’ on 20th December 1915. He was allotted to the 7th Reinforcements of the 17th Australian Infantry Battalion. He arrived in Egypt on 16th February 1916 and was taken on the strength of the 55th Battalion at Tel-el-Kebir. He embarked on HMT ‘Caledonian’ at Alexandria on 19th June for passage to Marseilles and the Western Front in France.
Three weeks after arrival, on 20th July 1916, he was reported as missing in action.
Private A.J. Chambers reported:
‘I saw Frank Lawrence shot through the head on the extreme right on the German 2nd line trenches at Fleurbaix on July 20th. As he fell he slid down over the parapet, and we had to leave his body there and go on. I do not know if it was recovered. I feel sure he was killed outright, but it is possible he was only wounded and was afterwards taken prisoner. He used to live in Botany Str. Redfern. Near where I lived. I knew him intimately.’
Lawrence had been taken prisoner and carried by the Germans to one of their hospitals – Reserve Feldlazarett 8 Haubourdin. His injuries were too severe for survival and he died a week later on 27th July. The Germans supplied details of soldiers who had died as prisoners, or whose bodies they buried if they had been found in territory controlled by them. Lawrence’s name was included in a German Death Lists (Nachlassliste) of 30th September 1916, 2nd September, and 14th November.
The contemporary record describes his burial at Haubourdin Communal Cemetery, German Extension. After the war his remains were exhumed and re-interred in Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery, Souchez, six miles N of Arras, France.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.