Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From Australian Remembrance Army

Frederick Charles Curtis
Service No: 7219
Rank: Private
Unit: 8th Battalion

Our group of volunteers recently had the honour and privilege of restoring the lettering to the headstone of WW1 veteran, Frederick Charles Curtis and his wife Jessie. The day was made even more special as Fred and Jessie’s granddaughter, Jan joined us at the cemetery. We are thankful for the wonderful support given by Jan and her family, who are very thankful for the works carried out on their family grave. We also thank Brisbane City Council for their approval and support.

The following is Fred’s story, written by his granddaughter, Jan.

𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬, son of a boot dealer was born in Chepstow, Wales on 6 January 1887. After his mother’s death in 1903, Fred aged sixteen emigrated to Brisbane, Australia. He initially boarded at “Garowie”, the Ipswich home of a distant relative, John Charles Cribb, MLA. Little is recorded on Fred’s escapades from 1903 to 1907. On his return from a trip home in 1907, twenty-year-old Fred worked for the next four years as an apprentice surveyor (1908 -1911), a farmhand in Goombungee and generally moved around looking for work. His younger brother Wilfred emigrated in 1913.

On 2 Feb 1915, Fred acquired an agricultural lease of 271 acres at Munduberra, Queensland. Soil tests indicated the land would be suitable to grow citrus. Fred and his brother Wilfred began clearing the land but in March 1916, Wilfred enlisted in Brisbane and was assigned to the 42nd Battalion of Australian Imperial Force (AIF). 3 Fred enlisted in Queensland on 16 Sept 1916 but was deferred and two months later he successfully reapplied in Melbourne. On 9 Dec 1916, he married Jessie (Jess) McPherson.

In early 1917, Fred was assigned to the 24th reinforcements of the 8th Battalion AIF. He left Melbourne on 19 Feb 1917, unaware that his brother Wilfred was killed in action in France five days earlier. After nearly nine weeks at sea via Albany, Cape Town and Sierra Leone, the troopship made slow progress due to poor quality coal and fell behind the escort destroyer. All men were in life vests in preparation for entering the English Channel. Troops including the band were preparing to commemorate the 1915 landing at Gallipoli. At 2 pm the Ballarat was torpedoed by a German submarine about twenty-four miles southwest of Wolf Rock.

Neil Smith describes that general calm prevailed as the ship settled and troops commenced moving to the boats and rafts. Attempts to tow her to shallow water failed and HMAT Ballarat sunk about eight nautical miles off the Lizard, Cornwall, England. Newspaper reports indicated that some men may have ended up in the sea and Fred recounted he had spent some time in the cold water. Sergeant Cliff Williams reported, “There were not enough boats, but the surplus men managed to cling onto rafts until picked up. Our company were supplied with rafts. They hold 20, not exactly hold, but 20 hang on the sides, the bodies, of course, in the water”. All 1752 men were moved safely to waiting ships. Fred’s military record indicated that he disembarked on 25 April 1917, at Devonport, England with his company: most men only had the clothes they were wearing and no personal items. Fred was admitted to Fargo hospital five days later with haemoptysis (coughing blood) and remained there for fifty-seven days. Over the next five months, he transferred between the hospital, No 2 Training Battalion, hospital and No 2 Command Base. He was never well enough to serve in France.

Fred was finally classified as unfit (C3) for overseas action on 22 Oct 1917 and was shipped home on 5 Nov 1917 on HMAT Themistocles. The ship arrived at the Port Melbourne on New Year’s Eve 1917. Fred was the last soldier disembarked via stretcher and his wife Jess waiting on the pier, thought he may have died on the journey home. Fred was admitted to No. 5 Australian General Hospital and discharged from the army with bronchitis and TB on 29 March 1918, unfit for military service but reported to be able to return to his previous occupation of farmer.

Fred attempted to resume his life on the Mundubbera farm. He applied for Soldier Settlement Grant on 13 Sep 1918 and on appeal he was granted £285. Fred was unable to clear and work the land due to his continuing invalid status and lack of farm workers. By October 1918, he had arranged to transfer the lease to another returned soldier and the family moved to Melbourne.

Kyoomba Sanatorium in Stanthorpe, Queensland was purchased by the AIF in 1917. The crisp and clean Stanthorpe air was thought to be beneficial for TB and gassed patients’ recuperation. Fred moved to Stanthorpe, Queensland in 1920 and was an outpatient at various times until it closed in 1935.

Fred and Jess bought 2.5 acres of land at Sentimental Rocks where they grew table grapes for the Brisbane market and vegetables. Fred retired to Toowoomba and later Everton Park, Brisbane in 1949. He struggled with his health until his death on 26 September 1960. He was buried alongside his wife Jess, in Lutwyche Cemetery.

𝙇𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙒𝙚 𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙩