PIKE, Frederick
| Service Number: | 36652 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 14 February 1917 |
| Last Rank: | Gunner |
| Last Unit: | Field Artillery Brigades |
| Born: | Darlinghurst, New South Wales, 5 June 1895 |
| Home Town: | Artarmon, Willoughby, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Sydney Technical High School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Engineer |
| Died: | Strathfield, New South Wales, Australia, 15 January 1970, aged 74 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Sydney Technical High School WW1 Roll Of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 14 Feb 1917: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Gunner, 36652, 8th Field Artillery Brigade | |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Nov 1917: | Involvement Gunner, 36652, Field Artillery Brigades, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '4' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Port Sydney embarkation_ship_number: A15 public_note: '' | |
| 5 Nov 1917: | Embarked Gunner, 36652, Field Artillery Brigades, HMAT Port Sydney, Sydney |
Help us honour Frederick Pike's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Sydney Technical High School
Pike was born in Sydney, Darlinghurst NSW, on the 5th of June 1895 with his family later living in Elizabeth Street, Artarmon. Born to father, Frank Pike (1864-1950), and mother, Rose Pike (née Southwell 1871-1961)1 and baptised as an Anglican2, Frederick followed his father in his study of mechanics. Pike spent much of his teenage years in the connected institutions Technical High School and Sydney Technical College. Despite a record of Pike in the Technical High School 1911 division IV first year term 3 exams where his name is struck through and no marks entered in most columns3, no records show his starting year, however, it can be estimated that he joined in 1908 at the age of 13 as that was the usual minimum age for joining the school. In 1912, at the age of 17, Pike joined Sydney Technical College studying mechanical drawing4 for 3 years.
After finishing his schooling, Pike went on to join the military, becoming an infantry instructor for reinforcements from 1915 to 19175. However, Pike enlisted for active overseas service on the 14th February 19176, and left for war on the 5th November 1917 ranked gunner aboard the A15 Port Sydney with the 29th Field Artillery Reinforcements7 . Integrating into the 8th Field Artillery Brigade that was a part of the Australian 3rd Division, Pike spent January of 1918 at rest in Vieux Berquin8 before moving with his brigade to cover the Armentières and Messines sector where fighting was comparatively light.
In April and May of that year, Pike was likely involved in the Battle of Villers-Bretonneux and Second Battle of Morlancourt9 respectively, surviving both with no significant injuries. On the 30th of August, just before the start of the Battle of Mont Saint-Quentin, he was wounded in action by gas and transferred by AT11 to the general hospital in Rouene10 for treatment the day after. The letter “Dear sir, I regret to advise you that A/Bombardier F. Pike has been reported gassed (classed as wounded) and admitted on 31/8/18 to French Hospital, France.” was sent to Pike’s parents on the 16th September 191811. Pike was soon transported to England and returned to Australia on the 14th February 1919 on board the H.M.A.T. Somali12, later being discharged for medical unfitness13 on the 25th March of the same year.
In the following years, he changed addresses from 458 Parramatta Road, Burwood in 193014, to Bathurst 193615, and later back to 440 Parramatta Road16 as he worked as a garage proprietor. In this time, Pike met his spouse Dulce Hope Pike (née Peterson)17 who worked at Burwood High School and lived together for subsequent years. Significantly, Pike was involved in a truck collision in 194818 colliding with another truck in Auburn and swerving onto the footpath, hitting, and badly damaging two houses. He himself was thrown from the truck cabin, suffering shock and abrasions while the occupants of the houses avoided any injury. Frederick Pike died on the 15th January 197019 with his death notice posted on the Strathfield Sydney Morning Herald on the 20th January20 and had a plaque placed in the New South Wales Garden of Remembrance in commemoration to his service21.
Endnotes
1. Ken Stevenson, 2020, Pike Frederick 1895-1970, Honour Board Project. Verification.docx
2. Anonymous, 1911, Pike Frederick 1895-1970, Honour Board Project. Image 1
3. Anonymous, 1911, Pike Frederick 1895-1970, Honour Board Project. Image 3
4. Ken Stevenson, 2020, Pike Frederick 1895-1970, Honour Board Project. Verification.docx
5. Anonymous, 1961, Pike Frederick 1895-1970, National Archives of Australia. p.18 Repatriation Record
6. Anonymous, 1917, Pike Frederick 1895-1970, National Archives of Australia. p.2 Enlistment Record
7. Anonymous, 1917, Pike Frederick 1895-1970, National Archives of Australia. p.8 Casualty Form Active Service Record
8. Anonymous, 1918, Group portrait of officers of the 8th Field Artillery Brigade at Vieux Berquin, Australian War Memorial
9. Anonymous, 1918, Morlancourt, Australian War Memorial
10. Anonymous, 1918, Pike Frederick 1895-1970, National Archives of Australia. p.9 Service and Casualty Form
11. Anonymous, 1918, Pike Frederick 1895-1970, National Archives of Australia. p.16 Discharge Record
12. Anonymous, 1919, Pike Frederick 1895-1970, National Archives of Australia. p.23 Medical Transfer Record
13. Anonymous, 1919, Pike Frederick 1895-1970, National Archives of Australia. p.15 Medical Transmission Record
14. Ken Stevenson, 2020, Pike Frederick 1895-1970, Honour Board Project. PIKE Frederick.docx
15. Ibid
16. Ibid
17. Ibid
18. Ken Stevenson, 2020, Pike Frederick 1895-1970, Honour Board Project. Image 2
19. Ken Stevenson, 2020, Pike Frederick 1895-1970, Honour Board Project. PIKE Frederick.docx
20. Ibid
21. Ibid