FERRICKS, Austin Francis
| Service Number: | 395 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 23 March 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 1st Machine Gun Company |
| Born: | Maryborough, Queensland, Australia, 19 July 1891 |
| Home Town: | Maryborough, Fraser Coast, Queensland |
| Schooling: | St Marys College, Maryborough, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation: | Gardener |
| Died: | Pneumonia, Belgium, 2 March 1919, aged 27 years |
| Cemetery: |
Charleroi Communal Cemetery Row K, Grave No. 6. IN A FAR LAND HE DIED BEFORE HIS DAY BUT A SOLDIER AND FOR HIS COUNTRY. R.I.P. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Maryborough Albert State School War Memorial, Maryborough City Hall Honour Roll, Maryborough Queen's Park War Memorial, Maryborough St Mary's College War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 23 Mar 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 395, 12th Machine Gun Company | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Sep 1916: | Involvement Private, 395, 12th Machine Gun Company, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '21' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Commonwealth embarkation_ship_number: A73 public_note: '' | |
| 19 Sep 1916: | Embarked Private, 395, 12th Machine Gun Company, HMAT Commonwealth, Melbourne | |
| 15 Jan 1917: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 21st Machine Gun Company | |
| 9 Sep 1918: | Promoted AIF WW1, Corporal, 1st Machine Gun Battalion | |
| 2 Mar 1919: | Involvement Corporal, 395, 1st Machine Gun Company, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 395 awm_unit: 1st Australian Machine Gun Company awm_rank: Corporal awm_died_date: 1919-03-02 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Austin Francis Ferricks was one of three brothers who served in the AIF during WW1. The sons of Michael and Mary Ferricks of Maryborough, Queensland, only one of them returned to Australia.
Austin’s younger brother, 2169 Pte. Thomas David Ferricks 52nd Battalion AIF, was killed in action at Messines on 7 June 1917, aged 22. Another brother, 2552 Private Michael John Ferricks 42nd Battalion AIF, returned to Australia in December 1918, having been gassed.
Austin served with the 21st Machine Gun Company, unscathed for much of the war from late 1916. He fell sick with pneumonia during February 1919, during the Spanish flu epidemic, and died over two weeks later.
It was reported in the Brisbane Daily Standard of 11 March 1919,
“Mr. and Mrs. Michael Ferricks, of Maryborough, have received the sad intelligence that their second son. Gunner Austin Ferricks, died in Belgium of pneumonia. The third son, Tom, was killed in action in France. The eldest son, Michael, returned from active service only a couple of weeks ago after having been gassed in France, and what makes the blow doubly hard on the bereaved parents is not only the shock to their expectations regarding the home-coming of their second son, but also the fact that a fourth son, Joe, died at home while the other brothers were in camp.”
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