STEPHENSON, Frank Arthur
| Service Numbers: | 27604, V91720 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 January 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Driver |
| Last Unit: | 9 Garrison Battalion / Company (Vic) |
| Born: | Burton Upon Trent, Staffordshire, England, 27 April 1896 |
| Home Town: | Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Boundary Rider |
| Died: | Narre Warren, Victoria, Australia, 7 July 1970, aged 74 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Springvale Botanical Cemetery, Melbourne |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Jan 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Gunner, 27604, 1st Divisional Ammunition Column | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1916: | Involvement Gunner, 27604, 1st Divisional Ammunition Column, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '22' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Borda embarkation_ship_number: A30 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Oct 1916: | Embarked Gunner, 27604, 1st Divisional Ammunition Column, HMAT Borda, Melbourne | |
| 29 Jan 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Gunner, 27604, 1st Divisional Ammunition Column, WiA France – gassed severe; hospitalised England | |
| 15 Oct 1918: | Transferred AIF WW1, Driver, 2nd Field Artillery Brigade | |
| 31 May 1919: | Embarked AIF WW1, Driver, 27604, 2nd Field Artillery Brigade | |
| 27 Oct 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Driver, 27604, 2nd Field Artillery Brigade |
World War 2 Service
| 5 Mar 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , V91720, 9 Garrison Battalion / Company (Vic) | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 Mar 1942: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , V91720, 9 Garrison Battalion / Company (Vic) |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Private Frank Arthur Stephenson (Service No:27604) initially enlisted in the AIF on 12 December 1914 and was attached to 6th Battalion at Discharge on 28 January 1915 (he refused vaccination). Private Stephenson re-enlisted on 20 January 1916 and was a Gunner attached to 1st Divisional Ammunition Column (DAC) when he embarked with his Unit from Melbourne for Portsmouth on 20 October 1916 on board HMAT A30 Borda. Gunner Stephension served with DAC on the Western Front, and was WiA on 29 January 1917 - severe Gas Poisoning. Hospitalised in England, he later returned to France, where in August 1918, he was again WiA - gunshot to shoulder. Transferred to 2nd Field Artillery Brigade (FAB) on 15 October 1918, Driver Stephenson embarked from England for Melbourne on 31 May 1919 on board HT Aeaneas, and was attached to 2nd FAB at Discharge on 27 October 1919 - medically unfit. In WWII, Private Stephenson served in the ACMF (Service No:V91720) with 9th Garrison Battalion (Vic) from 5 March 1941 to 4 March 1942 (medically unfit). Son Frank Jnr (Service No:VX124736) also served in WWII.
Francis (Frank) was born in Staffordshire, England in 1896, eldest of three children of Francis Peter Stephenson (b1870 in Lancashire, England) and Edith Lizzie Bennett (b1871 in Staffordshire, England). Francis was a Brewer's Clerk in Burton Upon Trent in Staffordshire, where he and Edith (a Dressmaker) married in 1895. In the mid 1900s Francis and Edith moved to Middlesex with their family, and Francis worked as a Private Secretary in the Export Brewing Business and as an Export Trade Manager. All three sons emigrated - Frank (the eldest) to Australia in 1913, Leslie (middle son) to Canada, and youngest son Don to Melbourne, Australia in 1929. Francis and Edith immigrated in 1947, arriving in Melbourne Victoria on board the Muttawunga.
Frank was a Farmer in 1913 when he immigrated, arriving in Melbourne on board the Geelong. He worked in NSW as a Farm Hand and was a Boundary Rider when he enlisted in the AIF in 1914. Following his Discharge, Frank was a 'Returned Soldier' - training as an Engine Driver - in 1921 when he applied under the Returned Soldiers Settlement Act (Battle to Farm) for land at Stanhope. With his application approved in 1922, Frank married Jessie Brown (b1878 in Melbourne, Victoria) - Jessie was a Dressmaker in Melbourne and had been nominated as Frank's cousin in his Attestation Papers (NAA). Frank and Jessie settled at Stanhope until the mid 1930s when they relocated to Narre Warren - Frank worked as a Farmer. Frank died in 1970 and Jessie in 1973.