S6290
CATHRO, Frank
| Service Number: | 1365 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1) |
| Born: | Thebarton South Australia, 6 February 1891 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Driver |
| Died: | Old age, Seaton South Australia, 15 July 1971, aged 80 years |
| Cemetery: |
Cheltenham Cemetery, South Australia |
| Memorials: | Woodville Kilkenny Church of St. Edward Honour Roll, Woodville Saint Margaret's Anglican Church Lych Gate |
World War 1 Service
| 22 Dec 1914: | Involvement Private, 1365, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ceramic embarkation_ship_number: A40 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Dec 1914: | Embarked Private, 1365, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), HMAT Ceramic, Melbourne |
Understanding my Grandfather as an adult
I would like to pay my respects to my grandfather Frank Cathro. He signed up at 23 years of age on 28 October 1914 at Morphettville. Serving in the 16th Battalion of the AIF, made up of South Australians and Western Australians and under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Harold Pope.
Over 1000 soldiers left Australia from Melbourne on 22/12/14 heading for Egypt, arriving in the Persian Gulf 20/1/15. They trained in Egypt at Heliopolis until leaving on the troopship Hyda Pasa on 11/4/15.
On 25/4/15 they assembled in the ship’s hold until at about 6pm when they went ashore at Anzac Cove. They spent the night digging in along the edge of the hills that afterwards bore their commanding officer’s name – Pope’s Hill and for the next five days they held the hill with Turkish troops to their front and rear. You can find out much more at http://www.anzacsite.gov.au/1landing/s_sixteenth.html if you are interested.
At the landing on 25 April the 16th had been about 1000 strong. At roll call on 3 May only 9 officers and 290 men answered their names.
Frank received a bullet wound 30/5/15, a second 'slight' injury 13/8/15 and then finally a gun shot wound to the left knee on 17/8/15 which saw him leaving on the Ulyssess from the Suez on 3/9/15 to be discharged medically unfit on 5/4/16.
Compared to many of his unit he was a lucky one. His pocket diary describes the initial excitement of the adventure, then the horrors.
I can only imagine what he felt being wounded twice and sent back to fight another day. My great grandparents were cabled each time - so three times they were notified he was wounded in action and then finally that he was coming home. Imagine have four cables delivered and not knowing what news they brought.
I was only 13 when my Grandfather died and to a young child he was withdrawn and grumpy. I knew he carried shrapnel from his war wounds, but had no comprehension of the other wounds he would have had from the memories of war and later on, the effects of the depression.
With age comes understanding and if he was alive today I would thank him with big hug and tell him how much I loved him.
A big thank you to Ellen and Jean Reid from the Bible Museum om Victoria who saw it in their hearts to return Frank's bible to his family.
Submitted 30 April 2023 by Linda Hundertmark
Biography contributed by Woodville High School
Frank Cathro was born on the 6th of February of 1891. He grew up in Thebarton, South Australia. Cathro was a British born Christian man with 2 brothers who also enlisted into the military. He had a father, Cathro, J., listed on his service papers and his mother, Edith Cathro, listed on his bible that many soldiers were given. Before the war, he was employed at Adelaide Bottle Works as an apprentice. Not much else is known about his early life.
Service papers
Frank Cathro enlisted at the SA, Morphettville recruitment office. He enlisted into the 16th battalion on the 28th of November, 1914 at the age of 23. Cathro was not married at the time and his next of kin was stated to be his father, Cathro. J living at Grey Street, Kilkenny, SA on the service papers. During his medical examination, Cathro was stated as by the officer “can see the required distance with either eye; his heart and lungs are healthy; he has the free use of his joints; and he declares he is not subject to fits of any description. I consider him fit for active service”.
Location of service
Frank Cathro served in the 16th battalion, 4th brigade where he would depart from Melbourne and embark to Egypt on the HMAT ceramic troopship. In Egypt is where they would make final preparations to travel to Gallipoli and aid the rest of the soldiers. They were able to find time and enjoy themselves amongst one of the seven wonders of the world.
Experiences of war
Frank Cathro enlisted into the war at 23 years old and served with some mates in the same battalion. Cathro would only serve a year in service. During his service in Gallipoli, Cathro suffered 2 wounds, one from a gun, and another from a bomb. Ultimately, he did survive and got treated but was sent back to Australia due to his “unfit condition for war”.
Life after the war
Fortunately, Cathro Frank did survive the war and departed from Gallipoli on the 3rd of September, 1915. He returned home safely and found love. Cathro married a woman named Ethlinda May Sandercock with whom he fathered 2 daughters. He passed away on the 15th of July, 1971 at the age of 80. Cathro was buried in Cheltenham Cemetery.
The bible of Cathro was recovered by a Victorian museum and had both the name of his presumed mother, Edith Cathro, written to the same address as his fathers estate, and a possible descendant, Colin Cathro, of whom the bible was passed down to. Colin Cathro is known to have been a soldier in the Second World War.
Click images to start slideshow.