HICKS, Frederick Benjamin
| Service Number: | 3141 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 6 September 1915, Enlisted at Perth, WA |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 28th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Fremantle, Western Australia, 1892 |
| Home Town: | Fremantle, Fremantle, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Tea Taster |
| Died: | Fremantle, Western Australia, 3 May 1953, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Fremantle Cemetery, Western Australia Section Mon DD, Grave 0021 |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 6 Sep 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3141, 28th Infantry Battalion, Enlisted at Perth, WA | |
|---|---|---|
| 18 Jan 1916: | Embarked Private, 3141, 28th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Medic, Fremantle | |
| 18 Jan 1916: | Involvement Private, 3141, 28th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '16' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Medic embarkation_ship_number: A7 public_note: '' | |
| 4 Jun 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 3141, 28th Infantry Battalion, Wound to the scalp | |
| 26 Aug 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 3141, 28th Infantry Battalion, Second occasion. Wounds to back and arm | |
| 19 Nov 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 28th Infantry Battalion, In France | |
| 15 Apr 1918: | Promoted AIF WW1, Corporal, 28th Infantry Battalion | |
| 2 Jan 1919: | Promoted AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 28th Infantry Battalion, Promoted after attending an officers course in England | |
| 2 Apr 1919: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 28th Infantry Battalion | |
| 1 Jun 1919: | Embarked AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 3141, 28th Infantry Battalion, per HT Somali | |
| 30 Aug 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 28th Infantry Battalion, Discharged at the 5th Military District |
Help us honour Frederick Benjamin Hicks's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Carol Foster
Son of Richard Hicks and Sarah Hicks of Russell Street, Fremantle, WA
Brother of Richard Ernest Woodland Hicks MM who returned to Australia on 27 September 1919
Commenced return to Australia on 1 June 1919 aboard HT Somali disembarking on 8 July 1919
Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal
During 1920c Frederick married Elizabeth M. Samuel in Fremantle, WA
Biography contributed by Chris Buckley
Lieutenant Frederick William Hicks (Service No:3141) enlisted in the AIF on 23 August 1915 and was attached to 28th Infantry Battalion when he embarked from Fremantle on 18 January 1916 on board HMAT Medic A7. He was WiA on two occasions in France - 18 January 1916 (GSW scalp) and 26 August 1916 (GSW to elbow and back). He progressed through the ranks - Lance Corporal/Corporal and was appointed Lieutenant in April 1919 following his return from Brussels. A December 1918 Confidentail Report (Officer Cadet) states 'Cadet Hicks ... has worked well, has plenty of knowledge and has always given satisfaction. He turns himself out well and will, in my opinion, make a good Platoon Commander' (National Archives Australia). Lieutenant Hicks embarked for the RTA on 1 June 1919 on board HT Somali and was Discharged on 19 June 1919. Sibling Richard (MM; Private; Service No:6324) also served with 28th Infantry Battalion in WWI.
Born in 1892 in Fremantle WA, Fred was the fifth of eight children of Richard Hicks (b1858 in Fremantle, WA) and Sarah Susanna John (b1860 in Fremantle, WA). Richard (a Purser) and Sarah married in 1882 in Fremantle, WA where they settled and raised their family. Richard worked as a Purser (1880 to 1909) on SS Perth, SS Rob Roy and SS Flinders, from 1910 he was a Clerk and by 1915 was Wharf Manager at Fremantle.
Fred worked as a Tea Taster in Fremantle WA - employment he maintained all his life. In 1920 in Fremantle, he married Elizabeth (Lizzie) Mary Samuel (b1894 in Glamorgan, Wales) - Lizzie immigrated in 1896, arriving in Albany WA on board the Prinz Regent Luipold and was living in Fremantle WA in 1919. Lizzie died in 1945 and Fred in 1953.
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