Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Frederick Johann Beutel was born Friedrich Johannes Beutel in Queensland. Fred as he was known in public, had to anglicise his given names. 

For he was of German descent. 

Fred was born in 1897. He was raised in a Lutheran community at Gramzow. This locality was pioneered by German Lutheran immigrants who settled the area back in 1867.

Herman and Johanna Beutel (nee Dreier) were his parents. They were both the children of Prussian immigrants who had migrated to join a Lutheran community in Queensland. Likely to escape Prussian Militarism.

Herman's father i.e. Fred's Grand Father, August Friedrich Beutel, had migrated to Queensland at the time of the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871). He died in 1913. That was before newspapers whipped up anti German sentiment in mid 1914.

That was done to "support" the war effort on the home front. The sentiment was so strong that German place names in Australia were renamed. That included place names associated with Friedrich's Lutheran community.

Friedrich decided to prove his loyalty to his King and his country of birth by taking an A.I.F. soldier's oath.

Fred was going to fight what he would have seen as Prussian Militarism. His Grand Father had migrated from Prussia to avoid being conscripted into that war machine. Now Fred was going to fight the Prussians.   

He was nineteen when he enlisted in mid 1916. Fred saw heavy fighting, in epic battles on the Western Front.    

Fred survived his baptism of fire to fight in those epic battles. It was late in 1919 before he was finally repatriated. He wanted to put the war behind him.

However, post war, he had difficulty readjusting to his pre war, care free life. Neither did he marry to share his life's journey nor did he have children.

Fred died in Brisbane Hospital in 1931. He is buried in the Lutheran Cemetery at Mount Cotton. 

This cemetery is located in what is now Carbrook. This township was renamed from Gramzow in 1916. That was done during the height of the anti German sentiment. 

Gramzow is the German village from where Lutheran pioneers originated from in 1867. They settled and named their gazetted Queensland namesake village after their German village.

This is no different from English migrants who had Australian townships named after English villages, where their migrant cohort had originated from.  

This is now a City of Logan suburb. It is located on the Logan River in Queensland.

Fred had been educated at Gramzow State School, but even the name of his alma mater could not escape the anti German sentiment. It was renamed Carbrook State School in 1916.

That was done to appease sentiments first expressed by war time newspapers and then inflamed by the anti German press. Even recruiting posters demonized the "barbaric huns" to drum up support for war effort.    

This was a difficult time for families with German sounding names. Even HM The King was not above the anti German sentiment.

King George V changed his German Royal House name to the more English, House of Windsor in 1917. The latter being the name of Windsor Castle.

That was done in response to anti German sentiment that had spread thoughout the Empire.    

It is not known if his untimely death was war related.

However Friedrich Johannes Beutel demonstrated his loyalty to his King and Country, even though his community was on the receiving end of anti German sentiment. The paradox is that his family migrated to what they called Gramzow in Queensland to escape Prussian Militarism.

Gramzow was gazetted as a place name but that was reversed in 1916. Friedrich enlisted amongst all that turmoil. Fred remained true to the values of his community who saw themselves as Queenslanders.

He rests in his Lutheran communities cemetery in Queensland. The Mount Cotton Lutheran Cemetery.

"A Faithful Soldier At Rest" is inscribed on his grave headstone. This is a fitting eptaph in his unique case.

For it re-enforces the choice that Friedrich Johannes Beutel made amidst enormous home front turmoil directed at families of German descent.  

Lest We Forget.     

References:

Friedrich Johannes Beutel's MyHeritage Family Records cited.

Headstone photo with his Soldier's epitaph is truncated from Find a Grave photo cited via Daphne Johnson.  

Attached Queensland BDM vital records confirm that Friedrich Johannes Beutel is his registered legal name.

He served as Frederick Johaan Beutel as per his NAA AIF File that is linked.