Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

In approximately April 1895, Wilfred Keats Fry was born in Terowie, South Australia. He was born a Baptist and remained so throughout his life. Fry had grey eyes and dark hair, with a medium complexion. He grew to be 5 foot 8 inches at the time of his enlistment. Before he joined the AIF, he worked as a grocer, probably at someplace near Maylands, considering that he moved there after his time at Terowie. He enlisted on the 5th September 1916 at the age of 21. He started in the AIF in the 10th battalion and he didn’t move any battalions as we have information of. Fry started as a private and only moved up to a Lance Corporal. 

Wilfred Keats Fry embarked from Adelaide on board the HMAT A19 Afric on the 7th of November 1916. After almost two whole months later, he and his group that was also on the ship arrived at Plymouth, an army base in Devon, south-west England on the 9th of January 1917. 

After almost a month of training and being perfectly fine, Fry got sick on the 5th of February 1917. The record sheet does not list what type of sickness it was, and only says that he was sick. He was originally sent to Bulford hospital in England on the 5th but was then later transmitted Parkhouse on the 7th until the 30th of March when he was discharged. That was a total of 54 days out of action and in two different hospitals. Straight after being discharged from the hospital, he went immediately back into training. 

Wilfred Keats Fry travelled to France from Folkstone on the 14th of May 1917. While in France, he joined the 10th Battalion which occurred on the 28th of May 1917. Five months later, and still in France, he was appointed Lance Corporal. On the 7th of December 1917, he started to attend training camp (School of Instruction). The camp that he attended was most likely in France, although it never exactly stated where about it was. After his training, he re-joined forces on the 17th of January 1918. A month after fighting again, Wilfred Keats Fry was sent back to training camp on the 18th of February 1918. He re-joined the forces for the second time after training camp on the 23rd of February 1918. The training camp that Fry attended was not mentioned but it was most likely one that was in France. The training that was done at these camps was to train others. During this time, there were new reinforcements that were coming over. These new army soldiers had only the basic knowledge and needed to be taught new skills. Wilfred Keats Fry was basically learning how to be a teacher. This meant that shortly, he was going to be teaching new army reinforcements. While the training was most likely beneficial for others that he was going to teach, there would have been information in the classes that would have also benefited him.

Shortly after fighting in the war again, he got wounded in action, in the hand and thigh, on the 1st of March 1918. This resulted in an amputation of his leg. He returned to Australia on the 18th of January 1919. He was awarded the ‘British War Medal’ and the ‘Victory Medal.’ 

Many years later, Wilfred Keats Fry died on the 11th of February 1956.