TORSON, Frederick
| Service Numbers: | 521, 521A |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 22 July 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 1st Machine Gun Battalion |
| Born: | Stockholm, Sweden, 1878 |
| Home Town: | Cairns, Cairns, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Miner |
| Died: | Tuberculosis, Bermondsey Military Hospital, Lewisham, London, 23 September 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
Kirkcaldy (Bennochy) Cemetery |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 22 Jul 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 521, 3rd Machine Gun Company | |
|---|---|---|
| 23 Nov 1916: | Involvement Private, 521, 3rd Machine Gun Company, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '21' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Hororata embarkation_ship_number: A20 public_note: '' | |
| 23 Nov 1916: | Embarked Private, 521, 3rd Machine Gun Company, HMAT Hororata, Melbourne | |
| 23 Sep 1918: | Involvement Private, 521A, 1st Machine Gun Battalion , --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 521A awm_unit: 1st Australian Machine Gun Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1918-09-23 |
Help us honour Frederick Torson's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
The summary below was completed by Cathy Sedgwick – Facebook “WW1 Australian War Graves in England/UK/Scotland/Ireland
Died on this date – 23rd September…… Frederick Torson was born in Stockholm, Sweden in 1878.
He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.) on 22nd July, 1916 as a 37 year old, single, Miner from Thornborough, North Queensland.
Private Frederick Torson, Service number 521 (later 521A), embarked from Melbourne on HMAT Hororata (A20) on 23rd November, 1916 with 8th Reinforcements of 3rd Machine Gun Company & disembarked at Plymouth, England on 29th January, 1917.
Reinforcements were only given basic training in Australia. Training was completed in training units in England. Some of these were located in the Salisbury Plain & surrounding areas in the county of Wiltshire.
He was marched in to Australian Details, No. 6 - 7 Camps at Perham Downs, Wiltshire on 30th January, 1917 & was transferred on 23rd February, 1917 to 3rd D. M. G. Coy.
On 29th June, 1917 Private Torson proceeded overseas to France from 16th Machine Gun Company to reinforce 6th Machine Gun Company. He was marched in to M.G.B.D. (Machine Gun Base Depot) at Camiers, France on 30th June, 1917. Private Torson was marched out from M.G.B.D. on 25th September, 1917 & was taken on strength with 1st Machine Gun Company on 28th September, 1917.
Private Frederick Torson was wounded in action on 7th November, 1917. He was taken to 3rd Australian Field Ambulance then admitted to 2nd Canadian Casualty Clearing Station on 8th November, 1917 with shrapnel wounds to left arm. Private Torson was transferred by Ambulance train & admitted to 53rd General Hospital at Boulogne, France on 9th November, 1917. He was invalided to England on Hospital Ship St. David on 22nd November, 1917.
He was admitted to Suffolk Hospital, Ampton, Bury St. Edmunds, England on 23rd November, 1917 with gunshot wounds to arm & chest. Private Torson was transferred on 5th January, 1918 to Infirmary at Bury St. Edmunds. On 7th March, 1918 he was transferred to 3rd Auxiliary Hospital, Dartford then on 13th March, 1918 he was discharged to No. 3 Command Depot at Hurdcott, Wiltshire.
On 1st April, 1918 Private Torson’s designation was changed to 1st Machine Gun Battalion, A.I.F. & he was re-allotted a regimental/service number of 521 A.
Private Torson was medically assessed on 19th April, 1918 as B1 A1 – fit for light duty only – four weeks. He was assessed again on 27th April, 1918 & rated as B1 A2 – fit for overseas training camp in three to four weeks. Private Torson was assessed again on 29th April, 1918 & rated as B1 A2. On 6th May, 1918 he was assessed as B1 A3 - fit for overseas training camp in two to three weeks.
Frederick Torson, aged 39, married Ruth Agnes Landels Love, aged 35, on 10th May, 1918 at the Register Office in the district of St. Giles, in the June quarter, 1918. Ruth Agnes Landels Love was born in Scotland & her occupation was listed as Red Cross Nurse. Her address at the time of the marriage was Ampton Hall, Ingham Bury St. Edmunds. Her present address was listed as 4 Bennochy Terrace, Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland.
On 24th May, 1918 Private Torson was medically assessed as A3 – fit for overseas training camp where soldiers were transferred for hardening prior to rejoining their unit overseas. He was marched out from No. 3 Command Depot, Hurdcott on 28th May, 1918 to Overseas Training Brigade at Longbridge Deverill.
Private Torson was marched out to Machine Gun Company Training Depot at Grantham on 7th June, 1918 & proceeded overseas to France from Grantham via Folkestone on 18th June, 1918.
He reported sick to 12th Australian Field Ambulance on 16th August, 1918 & was admitted to 55th Casualty Clearing Station with Pneumonia the same day. Private Torson was transferred to Ambulance Train 19 & admitted to 47th General Hospital at Le Treport, France on 17th August, 1918. He was marked for transfer to England on 31st August, 1918 & embarked on “Essequibo” for England on 1st September, 1918 with Tubercle of left lung.
On 2nd September, 1918 Private Torson was admitted to Bermondsey Military Hospital, Ladywell Road, Lewisham, London.
Private Frederick Torson died at 1.10 am on 23rd September, 1918 at Bermondsey Military Hospital, Ladywell Road, Lewisham, London, from Tubercle of Lung.
His body was claimed by relatives for private burial. He was buried at 9 am on 26th September, 1918 in Bennochy Cemetery, Kirkcaldy, Scotland. He shares a plot with his brother-in-law – Private Charles Goode Landels Love, of Canadian Infantry, who was the brother of Private Frederick Torson’s wife – Ruth Agnes Landels Love.
Both soldiers have Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstones.
(The above is a summary of my research. The full research can be found by following the link below)
https://ww1austburialsuk.weebly.com/kirkcaldy.html
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