KIRK, Frederick Charles Thomas
| Service Number: | 4312 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 22 September 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 43rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Clements Gap, South Australia, 20 September 1895 |
| Home Town: | Clements Gap, Barunga West, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 20 October 1917, aged 22 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Menin Gate Memorial (Commonwealth Memorial to the Missing of the Ypres Salient), Port Broughton War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 22 Sep 1916: | Enlisted | |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Nov 1916: | Involvement Private, 4312, 32nd Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Afric embarkation_ship_number: A19 public_note: '' | |
| 7 Nov 1916: | Embarked Private, 4312, 32nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Afric, Adelaide | |
| 20 Oct 1917: | Involvement Private, 4312, 43rd Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 4312 awm_unit: 43rd Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1917-10-20 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by tony griffin
Frederick Kirk was the son of Archibald and Mary Ann (nee Ellery) Kirk of Clements Gap .
Frederick was born at Clements Gap on 20 September 1895. A farmer on the family farm he was 21 years old when he enlisted on 22 September 1916.
Frederick embarked with 11th Reinforcements 32 Battalion from Adelaide on 7 November 1916 aboard HMAT A19 “Afric” and disembarked at Plymouth, England, on 9 January 1917. Following training he proceeded to France on 25 September and was taken on strength of 43 Battalion in Belgium on 8 October. Twelve days later Frederick was killed in action in the Ypres Salient, Belgium
“He belonged to A. Coy and his number was 4312A. He was killed while in reserves on (Passchendaele ridge?)”. - Pte D. H. Whiting. 43rd Battalion C.Coy 12 Platoon
“I saw him killed by a shell while we were in the sunken road close to Zonnebeke railway. I helped to bury him in the sunken road about 250 yards from the railway. A cross was erected bearing full particulars. I knew him in the Coy. He came from Crystal Brook.” - Pte. R. G. Groines 1531 C Coy 43 Battalion.
“4312 Pte. F. C. T. Kirk came to France when I did and was killed on 20th October 1917, and was buried on the field. He was only young, short and fairly thick set.” - 4558 R. G. Macgowan, 43 Battalion, A. Coy.
“I knew him well, he came from England where he was in a training battalion. He came from near Adelaide, and was, I think, a farmer. On the 20th October we were just in front of Hill 60, Ypres sector, in reserve. Between 11 & 12, noon he made some tea, and went to another dugout to ask the loan of a dixie, and a shell came, and a piece hit him, killing him instantly. Body was buried where it fell, i.e., about 700 yards in front of Hill 60, and was marked.” - Pte. H. E. White No.3196 43 Battalion, D. Coy, 15 Platoon
“He comes from Clement’s Gap. He was killed by a shell in our second stunt beyond Zonnebeke and I buried him there. The place is about 300 yards from the railway at a point beyond Zonnebeke, where after going into a bit of a valley it goes over the next ridge.” - Sgt Hatch. 686. No.2 Canadian General Hospital
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