Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From Ballarat & District in the Great War

Sgt Frank Warburton Dickinson

Many a young person had been set for a stellar career when the Great War disrupted their plans. Medical and law students were often in the early years of their degrees, all studying at university. Whilst for teachers and nurses, the studying consisted mostly of on-the-job training. The Education Department of Victoria contributed dozens of recruits – some were experienced veterans of the profession; others had only just commenced their climb up the teaching ladder. Young men like Frank Dickinson, who contributed enormously to the education of the next generations, had done so after rebuilding their own damaged lives.

John Dickinson and his wife, Jane Warburton, migrated to Australia from Lancashire, shortly after their marriage; they arrived in Melbourne on 25 March 1879. Initially, they settled in Castlemaine, where John was employed at Thompson’s Foundry. It was there that the first of their five children was born, but sadly died in infancy.

After relocating to Ballarat, the Dickinsons moved into a house at what was then 21 Bond Street in Mount Pleasant; it was to be their home for many years. John Dickinson took a position as a fitter at the famous Phoenix Foundry, before eventually joining the Ballarat Railway workshops as a machinist.

Frank Warburton Dickinson, their youngest child, was born at the Mount Pleasant home on 24 July 1894.
When young Frank reached school age, he was enrolled at the Mount Pleasant State School. The school had a strong community, with a reputation for producing fine scholars. The grounding received at the school was said to have been the inspiration for several illustrious careers, including military leader Leslie Morshead and surgeon, Albert Coates. Certainly, Frank appears to have been inspired by the teachers who undertook his early education.

John Dickinson also fostered his young son’s involvement at the Christ Church Cathedral in Lydiard Street. His active involvement at the church over many years encouraged his children to share in the congregational community.

A parent’s death is a particularly traumatic event at whatever age that event occurs. But when John Dickinson died suddenly from broncho-pneumonia on 24 October 1907, the effects on his 13-year-old son could have had long-lasting effects. The lack of a signed Will, made the situation even more difficult for his newly widowed mother, who was required to gain sworn affidavits in order to secure probate over her late husband’s estate.

The New Year brought continued turmoil – a diphtheria outbreak amongst the students at Mount Pleasant resulted in over 100 children from affected homes being kept in isolation. Several of the children died from the disease as the cases continued to mount.

Then, personal tragedy was visited upon headmaster, Mr John Blight, when his son, Algie, was killed in the Sunshine Rail disaster on 20 April 1908.

There can be little doubt that the cumulative effect of these events would have caused Frank considerable anxiety. Life was suddenly very precarious.
However, Frank’s scholastic career continued to flourish. And it was due in no small part to the support that he received from both his mother and the school community.

On Empire Day, 24 May 1908, the Headmaster Blight held an essay competition amongst the students. It was conducted under examination conditions, with a prize worth 10-shillings each to the best essay by a boy and girl. Forty-six students submitted essays for consideration by the adjudicators, Mr Blight and the First Assistant, Miss Elizabeth Clementson. Frank Dickinson, who was then in 6th Grade, took out the boys’ prize, and selected two books, Green’s History of England and Sutherland's History of New Zealand, as his reward.

His essay was then published in the Ballarat Star newspaper.

‘…Empire Day means the building up of the British Empire. It was founded by the Earl of Meath, an Irish lord and member of the English Parliament. He is a popular man with the people of Great Britain, and his name is known over nearly all of the British Empire. He thought that the people ought to have a day to show their loyalty and self-respect for the nation, and he thought that our late Queen’s birthday should not be forgotten; so he said to keep up the Queen’s birthday on the 24th May, and call it Empire Day. Our late Queen Victoria did so much to build up and keep the Empire going that it was the most suitable for Empire Day to be held upon the anniversary of the Queen’s birthday. The Empire had been growing all the time since the Angles and Danes went over to England; but most of it had grown up when the good and noble Queen had been ruling well and wisely. Some of the possessions have been added on, but the people have been better ruled, and that is one thing that helps to make an Empire great, and peace is another thing to make an Empire great. Without these two things an Empire cannot hold its own for long, and would fall down a helpless country. Empire Day represents two things - the anniversary of the Queen's birthday and the building of the Empire. Empire Day is celebrated in all parts of the British Empire all over world, by people of different race, colour, and religion. They have a procession or something; yet there are some people who do not want to celebrate Empire Day. It brings to us the memory of our good Queen and the building up the Empire. It is a grand thing, and teaches us to be loyal and to try and follow in her footsteps…’

Whether Frank Dickinson had a teaching vocation or received career guidance from his own teachers is not known, but it is clear he had an aptitude for passing on knowledge to others. As was then customary, a young person who chose to enter the Education Department usually started their teaching career in a junior position at the school where they had received their own education. From there they earned placement in smaller country schools. Frank received his first formal posting to the Woolshed State School, in a sadly diminishing mining community 8-kilometres north-west of Beechworth.

News of the Landing at Gallipoli was just making its way into Australian households when, on 30 April 1915, Frank Dickinson took himself into Beechworth to enlist. He was two-months shy of his 21st birthday, which meant he needed a parent’s consent; although it was said that Frank had submitted the necessary document, there was no evidence of its existence.

His physical examination was conducted in Melbourne on 4 May, where the medical officer found him to be quite a slight lad – just 5-feet 4-inches tall and weighing a meagre 116-pounds (although a later examination was changed to 9-stone 12-pounds). His chest measurement was more than adequate – 33 to 35-inches. He’d been vaccinated as a child and the marks were still visible on his left arm – as was a scar on his left thigh. Depending on the light, Frank’s eyes could appear to be either grey or green, and he had fair skin and fair hair.

Before Frank had been sent to Woolshed, he had started training with the 70th Infantry Regiment – he’d completed 9-months with the cadets, before graduating to the senior ranks where he spent a further 10-months. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.
After passing his medical, Frank reported to the Sturt Street Barracks in Melbourne on 7 May. It was from there that he was posted to the Clearing Hospital with the Australian Army Medical Corps.

Frank’s first deployment came when he embarked from Melbourne on 17 July onboard HMAT Orsova. He was allotted the regimental number 266 for what was to be a round trip to Egypt. The transport Kanowna returned to Australia as a hospital ship on 22 November and docked in Sydney a month later. Frank was a member of the staff serving onboard the ship and he was immediately struck off strength upon arrival home.

On 21 January 1916, Frank Dickinson was transferred to the Australian Field Artillery and his regimental number was changed to 22106. He underwent a period of training before he was promoted to corporal on 1 May and posted to the 108th Battery of the 23rd Howitzer Brigade.

For a second time, Frank embarked for war – he sailed from Melbourne on 20 May 1916 onboard HMAT Medic. The day before the Medic made landfall at Plymouth on 18 July, Frank was promoted to the rank of sergeant with the 8th Field Artillery Brigade. The new reinforcements were transferred to the artillery training camp set up at Fargo on the Salisbury Plain.

Winter in England proved difficult for Frank and he was admitted to the Military Hospital at Fargo on 7 December suffering from bronchitis. He spent twelve days in hospital, but was released in time for Christmas with his mates. Shortly after he was on his way to France, sailing on New Year’s Eve. He joined the 8th Field Artillery Brigade at Strazeele on 6 January 1917.

When Australian units launched attacks on German outposts in the Hindenburg Line around Bullecourt on 11 April, the 8th FAB was in position further north near Ploegsteert. On 21 April, Frank was one of two men who suffered shrapnel wounds in what was an otherwise uneventful day. With his left hand wrapped in field dressings, Frank reported to the 9th Field Ambulance. He was immediately transferred through to the 2nd Australian Casualty Clearing Station at Trois-Arbres near Bailleul. Fortunately for Frank the wound was only slight and he was back with his battery just five days later.

The 8th FAB continued in position near Ploegsteert Wood north of the River Douve. Heavy action during June eventually had a profound effect on Frank Dickinson. Constant exposure to shelling both outgoing and incoming resulted in him suffering considerable physical debility. He was admitted to the 1st New Zealand Field Ambulance on 25 June, before being transferred once again to the 2nd ACCS.

As he was moved around for treatment, Frank spent time at the 7th Canadian Stationary Hospital at Le Havre, the 4th Stationary Hospital at Arques and then the 10th Stationary Hospital at St Omer, where he was a patient from 12 July to 20 August. The diagnosis was determined to be neurasthenia, a now out-dated broadly defined condition that was characterised by feelings of lassitude and fatigue, often accompanied by body tremors, headaches and irritability or emotional breakdown.

Frank was discharged to the 10th Convalescent Hospital at Écault, 8 kilometres south of Boulogne, on 20 August. He was then transferred to the 13th Convalescent Depot at Trouville on 26 August, where he remained until 25 September.

After being discharged to the Australian Base Depot at Le Havre, Frank was medically classified as A1, meaning he was fit for a return to active duty.

Nothing could have been further from the truth. Just ten days after this classification was recorded, Frank was invalided to England. He marched into the No2 Command Depot at Weymouth on 6 October and was immediately re-assessed as Class C2. The diagnosis was also changed to the very specific term that we have come to associate most closely with the Great War: shellshock.

On 10 January 1918, Frank Dickinson boarded the Hospital Ship Corinthic for an early return to Australia. In the hope that he would regain his fitness, the entry “change” was added to his file, but it was soon clear that for Frank the war was over. He was discharged as medically unfit on 6 April 1918, and, although he was regarded as a disabled veteran, there was no pension issued.

The need for an immediate return to work was both financial and psychological – the calm, constancy of classroom teaching appears to have been exactly what Frank needed to aid his recovery. His first posting after leaving the army was to the small rural school at Lake Charm near Kerang. It was there that he brought his new bride, Bertha Mabel Nance, after their marriage at Ballarat in 1919.

The birth of their first child, John Warburton Dickinson, was another step in Frank’s recovery. Born at Nurse Bird’s Private Hospital in Ballarat on 9 October 1920, Jack was to become a joy to both his parents.

Frank continued to teach at Lake Charm until he was transferred to Wonga Park in 1922. They were living there when their second child, Jill Thelma Maurine, was born on 4 December 1922.

The Education Department kept Frank constantly on the move, with a new school every three years. He was transferred to Kew in late 1924, and for the first time the family lived in a truly suburban area taking a house in Fitzwilliam Street.

Jane Dickinson, who had continued to live in their Mount Pleasant home with her daughter, Eliza, was now in her 70’s. In 1925, she and Eliza moved to Ringwood to live with the second of the Dickinson sons, Fred. For the first time in many years, the extended Dickinson family were living close to one another again. Sadly, Jane didn’t have long to enjoy the closeness; she died on 24 September the same year.

Following his mother’s death, Frank received confirmation that he had been transferred yet again. They returned to the State’s north in 1926, where Frank took over the position of headmaster at the Tresco State School, 23-kilometres from Swan Hill.
Frank, Bertha and the children spent Christmas 1928 with Bertha’s family in Ballarat. On Boxing Day, Frank went out for a drive around nearby Lake Wendouree. The holiday had attracted crowds of people to the lake, so Frank was driving slowly as he neared the Botanical Gardens. Seeing a small boy suddenly dash across the road in front of his car, Frank had enough presence of mind to swerve and avoided running over the child. The 4-year-old, Alfred Ernest Barnfield, was brushed by the car’s mudguard and knocked to the ground, but he escaped with only minor abrasions. (Alfred Barnfield lived to 2-months short of his 90th birthday).

In September 1929, after news that Frank Dickinson was being transferred to the headship at the North Creswick State School, the residents of Tresco and surrounding districts gathered to say farewell and to give them ‘several presents.’

Frank used this period of his life to become involved in the Returned Sailors' and Soldiers' Imperial League of Australia (forerunner of the RSL) and in February 1932, he was elected as vice-president of the Creswick branch. The following January he was elected president.

Their new home, which was in Clunes Road near to the school, was where their third child, Zoe Anne, was born on 5 July 1933. The year was rounded out by news that their son, Jack, had been awarded a scholarship to the Ballarat Church of England Grammar School.

And so it was that 1934 began as a year of great promise. No-one could have foreseen the heart-breaking tragedy that was about to unfold. Jack had just started his studies at Ballarat Grammar, when he suddenly became very ill with pneumonia. There appears to have little the doctors could do to save the boy’s life and he died at the Ballarat Base Hospital on 6 June.

Tributes flowed in when news of the 13-year-old’s death reached around the district. Cards and telegrams, flowers and countless visitors helped the family come to terms with their loss.

Frank was appointed as relieving assistant teacher at Ballarat’s Dana Street State School in August, allowing the grieving parent’s to be closer to their son’s grave in the Ballarat New Cemetery.

In 1935, Frank took a temporary posting as headmaster at the Elmore State School, before once again returning to Ballarat. They moved in with Bertha’s mother, Sarah, in the Nance family home at 208 Talbot Street south. They continued to live there when Frank took over as head master of the Queen Street State School in Ballarat East.

During this period, Frank and Bertha became proficient amateur golfers. They took part in numerous competitions around the local courses and were often amongst the prize winners. It proved to be a great outlet for them both.

Frank also became an active member of the Ballarat Legacy Club. When he left Ballarat to take up the post of head master of the Bairnsdale State School, his loss was acknowledged by all the members.

In February 1941, it was announced that Jill Dickinson had won The Argus exhibition for geology. Her father had been responsible for her early education at Tresco and North Creswick State Schools, before she had continued on to Ballarat High School, Sacred Heart, Ballarat. Jill followed her late brother’s example by winning a scholarship to Trinity College at the University of Melbourne. As was pointed out at the time, she had little ‘time for hobbies,’ and apart from studying geology, she particularly enjoyed sporting pursuits – especially tennis, swimming, cycling and hiking. She must have been a source of great pride to Frank and Bertha.

Whilst Frank was teaching in Bairnsdale, the family lived at 86 Pearson Street, which was only a short walk from the State School. They were still there when World War II was declared.

In February 1943, it was announced that Frank had been gazetted as a flying officer with the Royal Australian Air Force to the Command of Flights at Bairnsdale. Taking a leave of absence from the Education Department, Frank became responsible for training cadets from the Bairnsdale area. He continued doing this until the end of January 1944, when it was announced that he was to take over the Swan Hill State School. He was discharged from the RAAF on 6 March that year.

Frank continued to teach throughout the 1950’s and into the 1960’s, and he and Bertha lived in the Melbourne suburb of Ivanhoe throughout that period. Weekends were spent playing bowls for the Fairfield Bowling Club, which often involved team challenges against rival cities and interstate trips.

When Frank finally retired from teaching, the couple moved to Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast. He died at Brisbane on 20 July 1972. Bertha died just over 14-years later at the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital in Melbourne. Both Frank and Bertha were transported to Ballarat for burial with their young son, Jack. It was a tie that was never fully broken.