SWINDELLS, Frank
| Service Number: | 1438 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 45th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Walsall, Staffordshire, England, 30 March 1887 |
| Home Town: | Nyngan, Bogan, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Railway Fitter |
| Died: | Died of wounds, France, 14 August 1916, aged 29 years |
| Cemetery: |
Puchevillers British Cemetery, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 11 Feb 1915: | Involvement Private, 1438, 4th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '8' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Seang Bee embarkation_ship_number: A48 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Feb 1915: | Embarked Private, 1438, 4th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Seang Bee, Sydney | |
| 20 May 1915: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 1438, 4th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, He was evacuated to Egypt where he was admitted to the 1st Australian General Hospital at Heliopolis on 8th June 1915 and stayed there almost a month before being transferred to Ras-el-Tin Hospital, Alexandria, on 5th July 1915. From there he was discharged to the Overseas Base on 10th July 1915 and embarked for Mudros on the Greek island of Lemnos on 14th July 1915. He re-joined his unit at Gallipoli on 19th July 1915. | |
| 2 May 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 45th Infantry Battalion , Transferred from 4th infantry Battalion at Moascar in Egypt. | |
| 14 Aug 1916: | Involvement Private, 1438, 45th Infantry Battalion , Battle for Pozières , --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 1438 awm_unit: 45 Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1916-08-14 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by John Oakes
Frank SWINDELLS was born on 30th March 1887 at Walsall, Staffordshire, England. He came to Australia when he was 24-years-old.
On 3rd March 1913 he joined the Locomotive Branch of the NSW Government Railways and Tramways as a fuelman based at Wellington. On 9th February 1914 he became a fitters’ labourer. Oficially he was based at Wellington but an annotation on his Railway record card suggests he was actually located at Nyngan. On 6th November 1914, he was released from duty to join the Expeditionary Forces.
Frank joined the AIF on 6th November 1914 and was allotted to the 2nd Reinforcements to the 4th Infantry Battalion with the rank of Private (Service Number 1438). On his Attestation Paper he nominated his mother, Sarah Swindells of Walsall, Staffordshire, as his next of kin and he gave his occupation as ‘bridle cutter’ (His mother stated he worked for the Railway at Nyngan when she filled in his Roll of Honour circular for the Australian War Museum in 1920).
On 11th February 1915 he embarked aboard HMAT A48 ‘Seang Bee’ at Sydney for Egypt He reached Egypt in time to embark with the battalion at Alexandria on 5th April 1915. He went to Mudros on the Greek island of Lemnos en route to the start of the Gallipoli campaign. The Battalion took part in the Anzac landings on 25th April 1915, as part of the second and third waves, and then took on a role assisting with the defence of the beachhead. It was during these defensive operations that Frank was wounded in action on 20th May 1915. He was evacuated to Egypt where he was admitted to the 1st Australian General Hospital at Heliopolis on 8th June 1915 and stayed there almost a month before being transferred to Ras-el-Tin Hospital, Alexandria, on 5th July 1915. From there he was discharged to the Overseas Base on 10th July 1915. He embarked for Mudros on 14th July 1915. He re-joined his unit at Gallipoli on 19th July 1915.
On 23rd August 1915 he reported sick to the 3rd Field Ambulance. He went back to his unit on 26th August 1915, only to be taken on board the Hospital Transport ‘Gascon’ on 28thAugust 1915 with a septic hand. He was again evacuated to Egypt where he was admitted to the 1st Australian General Hospital at Heliopolis on 2nd September 1915. On 29th September 1915 he was sent to the General Hospital in Cairo for further treatment, but he was soon discharged. He embarked at Alexandria to return to Gallipoli on 18th October 1915 where he re-joined his unit on 3rd November 1915.
Frank reported sick again on 9th December 1915, this time with venereal disease. He was sent firstly to the 1st Australian Casualty Clearing Station before being evacuated to Mudros where he was admitted to the British Field Ambulance on 10th December 1915. However, on 23rd December 1915 it was decided to send him to Egypt once more, where he was admitted to the 2nd Australian General Hospital at Ghezireh on 27th December 1915. The next day, 28th December 1915, he was transferred to the 1st Australian Dermal Hospital at Abbassia. He stayed in hospital until 23rd March 1916 when he was discharged to duty at the Combined Training and General Base Depot at Tel-el-Kebir. He was counted as being off duty for 104 days due to this disease. On 19th April 1916 he marched out to the 1st Training Battalion at Moascar where he stayed until 2nd May 1916 when he was transferred to the 45th Infantry Battalion.
He was taken on strength of the 45th Infantry Battalion at Serapeum on 3rd May 1916. Just on a month later, on 2nd June 1916, he embarked at Alexandria for France, disembarking at Marseilles on 8th June 1916. On 2nd July 1916 he was penalised four days’ pay for being Absent Without Leave for three hours. He was on duty with his unit from when he arrived in France. On 14th August 1916 he was wounded in action at Pozières.
He received gunshot wounds to the back, the bullets penetrating his right lung and hitting his spine. He was taken firstly to the 4th Field Ambulance before being transferred to the 3rd Casualty Clearing Station where he died of his wounds the same day.
Frank’s grave is in Puchevillers British Cemetery, Puchevillers, Picardie, France. His place of association in Australia is Nyngan, NSW.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.
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