Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

GALL Frederick (Fred)  #5405  15th Battalion
 
Fred Gall enlisted for service on 1st December 1915. He stated his age as 22 years and gave his address as Burpengary. Fred named his mother, Caroline Gall of Burpengary as his next of kin. The embarkation roll for the 17th reinforcements of the 15th Battalion lists Fred Gall, labourer of Burpengary as boarding the “Hawkes Bay” in Sydney on 20th April 1916.
 
Fred arrived in Egypt on 24th May and by 8th June had landed in Marseilles. For the next six months Fred was admitted to various hospitals and convalescent depots with an undiagnosed bronchial condition. He was posted back to his unit but only managed to stay for 10 days before reporting sick again.
 
On 13th March Fred was admitted to Southwark Military Hospital with severe pleurisy. His mother was informed of his illness by telegram. After a month of bed rest, Fred was granted a two week furlough with instructions to report to the overseas training depot at Perham Downs when the furlough was up. Fred did not report for another 11 days. He was charged with being absent without leave and given 11 day’s field punishment #2 and the loss of 22 day’s pay.
 
Fred remained at the Perham Downs depot throughout the summer of 1917. On the 28th July, Fred again went AWL. This time he remained on the loose until he surrendered to the MPs in Birmingham on 3rdSeptember. He was placed into custody back at Perham Downs until his trail where he was given 26 days FP#2. As soon as he was released from the guardhouse, Fred was sent back to his unit in Belgium.
 
For the remainder of 1917 and the early months of 1918, Fred was in and out of field ambulance and convalescent camps with a variety of complaints, some of which were undiagnosed. By March 1918, it would appear that Fred had finally settled into battalion life.
 
In March, the 15th Battalion, part of the 4th Brigade AIF, and the 12th and 13th Brigades were called upon to stem the onslaught of the German advance during Operation Michael across the old Somme battlefields. The 4th Division fought many actions throughout April before the German advance was finally checked at Villers Brettonneux on 25th April. Through May and June, the Australians continued to harass the enemy while planning for a counterattack.
 
The recently promoted Australian Corps Commander, Lt Gen John Monash, planned a limited attack for the 4th July at Hamel, just north of Villers Brettoneux. The plan was revolutionary in that the operation of armour, artillery, air and deception would change the way battles had been fought up until that time. Monash planned for the objectives to be reached in 90 minutes; it in fact took 93.
 
Sometime within that 90 minutes, Fred Gall sustained serious wounds which resulted in him being taken to the 13th Australian Field Ambulance. His records state that he died of his wounds on 6th July 1918. There is no record of his burial. Fred Gall is listed on the memorial tablets at the Australian National Memorial at Villers Brettonneux. He joins almost 11,000 Australian soldiers who died in France and have no known grave.