POND, Fred
| Service Number: | 1514 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 9 July 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 13th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Motcombe, Dorset, England, 1894 |
| Home Town: | Clarkes Hill, Moorabool, Victoria |
| Schooling: | National School, England |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Killed in action, France, 4 February 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 9 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1514, 4th Light Horse Regiment | |
|---|---|---|
| 29 Oct 1915: | Involvement Private, 1514, 4th Light Horse Regiment, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '2' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Palermo embarkation_ship_number: A56 public_note: '' | |
| 29 Oct 1915: | Embarked Private, 1514, 4th Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Palermo, Melbourne | |
| 4 Feb 1917: | Involvement Private, 1514, 13th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 1514 awm_unit: 13 Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1917-02-04 |
Help us honour Fred Pond's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Fred Pond was born in Dorset, England during 1894. He was working as a farmer at Clarkes Hill, near Ballarat, Victoria, when he enlisted in the 4th Light Horse Regiment during 1915.
When he got to Egypt just after the Gallipoli campaign, he broke his ankle and was many months getting it right. He was sent to France during October 1916 and joined the 13th Battalion.
Fred Pond died during the 13th Battalion’s attack on Stormy Trench at Gueudecourt on 4 February 1917. The taking of Stormy Trench went down as legend in the history of the 13th Battalion as it was a tough nut to crack. The gallantry of Captain Harry Murray of the unit, was rewarded with a Victoria Cross.
Fred Pond’s Lieutenant wrote of his death in Fred’s Red Cross wounded and missing file.
“I knew Pond who belonged to my bombing Platoon on the night of 4/5th Feb. 17. We on the left flank at the attack on Stormy Trench near Gueudecourt. We captured this trench and shortly after we entered it, it was noticed that there were the remains of a man blown to pieces by shell fire. The following day I examined them more carefully and from their appearances, especially the leg, and general proportions, also from the way the puttees was put on, I am certain that these belonged to Pond, also he was the only man we could not account for in the Platoon.” Lieutenant G.S. McDowell 13th Battalion H.Q.