Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

The Emmett family migrated to Australia from Yorkshire England in January 1857;  William his wife Hannah, Joseph aged 2 and baby Minetta. The family first lived in Collingwood before moving to Sandhurst (Bendigo) where William was a farmer and contractor.  Joseph grew up in the area and met his wife Annie Gamble.  They were married on 24th April 1886.  They had six children whilst living in the district including:

•  George Harold Emmett Reg No. 1106 in 1892; 

•  Frank Ernest Emmett Reg No 6105 in 1895;

•  William Richard Emmett Reg No. 57138 in 1897

By 1903 the family had moved to Lot 47 Allambee South (Australian  Electoral Roll), the boys attending the Allambee South school opened by Agnes Smith before working on the farm.  Joseph was a dairy farmer of some repute.  In July 1914 he decided to get out of dairying and moved into sheep.  Two years later in April 1916 he put his property on the market, and relocated to Balmerins Avenue, Toorak.  The Emmett boys were all keen footballers playing for Allambee Juniors (Reserve Team).

Frank Ernest Emmett, enlisted aged 21 on the 2nd of March 1916 in Warragul.  On enlistment he was described as 5’11” fair complexion, brown eyes and dark brown hair.  He enlisted in the 7th Battalion, 19th Reinforcements.  Following training in Castlemaine his unit departed from Melbourne on Themistocles on 28th July 1916 arriving in Plymouth 11th September.  30th September he was transferred to the 37th Battalion and proceeded overseas to France 22nd September 1916.  In February 1917 he was wounded in action and admitted to hospital in England with a gunshot wound to the right buttock. 

He rejoined his unit in France in July 1917 but was again wounded in action in October 1917 with a gunshot wound to abdomen and chest.  He was again hospitalised in England and returned to Australia 10/1/1918 for discharge.

Courtesy of Avenel Jane

We take the following from a letter just received from Private F. E. Emmett, who some weeks ago was wounded while fighting in France : — As I told you in my last letter, I had been out training for a special job, which turned out to be a very large raid — one of the largest there has been on this part of the front. I might say it was that we were in, a town right on the border of France and Belgium. Well, the raid came off last Monday night, and there was h—— to play. A thousand of us went over, and I got knocked by Fritz's second line of trenches by a round of shrapnel. The bullet went in through my buttock, and travelled through into the abdominal lining. I went down like a log, and rolled into a hollow, but was soon up again, and made off after the others. I did not go very far though before I had to turn back, as I could not get along fast enough. I managed to hobble back, using my rifle for a crutch, till I came to our own parapet.  I can tell you I was not long in sliding down into the trench. I forgot about the pain. Even then the shells were lobbing around  us as thick as beggary, and there we a terrible lot of wounded lying there waiting to be carried off. There were many worse cases than mine, so I made tracks the best I could to  the dressing station. I arrived there safely, and got my wound dressed. By this time I had got cold, and was so stiff and sore that I could not move, and had to be put on a  stretcher and taken off in an ambulance to the clearing station, where I was operated on straight away and had the bullet removed, which I have got for a souvenir.  They  operated on my stomach, and, by jove, they did make a job of it. They put in 2 gash about a foot long, besides three branches off it. They put three tubes in and about sixteen stitches, which I have just had removed. Anyway, it is doing well now, but it will be a while before I am back at the line again. I was sent to England a few days after the operation, and am now feeling as well as ever, only I cannot move off my back though.

Gippslander and Mirboo Times (Vic. : 1914 - 1918)Thursday 17 May 1917 –

Private F. E. Emmett, writing from England on September 16th., says — After leaving the Cape we called at St. Vincent, a small island on the North West coast of Africa, but only stayed about half a day, it took us a fortnight to get there and we had another ten days' sail ahead. The last week we had to wear life belts all the time as we were in the danger zone. An escort was supposed to pick us up, but none arrived  and the captain was very anxious about it. The night before arriving in port we got orders to sleep fully dressed. About 2 o'clock they sighted a German submarine, but could not tell what it was in the distance, so "they sent out a wireless and she answered in the wrong code, so as soon as it went under to come closer our boat turned off and "done a get" till we got clear. Next day about 4 o'clock we pulled in at Plymouth, disembarked, entrained, and left for Salisbury Plains. The country looked lovely as we came along, it being a bright moonlight night, and I can tell you we appreciated it after being on the water for six weeks. Any way we landed out here about two o'clock next morning, hungry, and tired, only to find nothing prepared for us, but after some trouble we managed to "dig hup" some "bully"' and 'biscuits, which we enjoyed properly.- Then we lay down in our overcoats and slept. They had us out and at it next day like one thing. We get ''hurry up" here alright. The day before yesterday they were getting a big draft ready for —— which left last night, they are to reinforce the 7th Battalion, which got completely wiped out. There is another draft to go next Saturday, but are short, so they called for volunteers and I stood out. There are 30 out of my Company going, and we are to get our four days' leave on Monday. We should have had this when we landed but they are mustering up all the deserters and no one was allowed leave. Jack Bright and Billson are with me, and we are going to London to have a look around. We should have from two to three months' training here, but the Australians are going to take some town or other (I forget the name), with the bayonet, as they can not shell it, so that means heavy losses. It is something like a camp here, about 14 miles long, so you can judge there are a fair few in it. England is a "bonzer" country, and I am greatly taken up with it.

Morwell Advertiser (Morwell, Vic. : 1888 - 1954)Friday 11 January 1918

In 1919 Frank married Margaret Scully.  They lived in Abbotsford, Frank working as carrier before moving to New South Wales where Frank was working as an engineer.  They returned to Victoria in 1937 and Frank joined the Public Service. 

He died in 1962, and at the time of his death he had been residing at 27 Foster Avenue, Glenhuntly.  Frank is buried in Brighton General Cemetery. Margaret died in 1991.