PEACHEY, Frederick Abraham William Cleave
| Service Number: | 940 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 19 September 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 15th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Cornwall, England, 1 December 1892 |
| Home Town: | South Grafton, Clarence Valley, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Baker |
| Died: | New South Wales, 11 November 1964, aged 71 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 19 Sep 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 940, 15th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Dec 1914: | Involvement Private, 940, 17th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ceramic embarkation_ship_number: A40 public_note: '' | |
| 22 Dec 1914: | Embarked Private, 940, 17th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ceramic, Melbourne | |
| 7 Aug 1915: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 940, 15th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, SW Shoulder and knee | |
| 21 Oct 1916: | Embarked Private, 940, 15th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Boonah, Brisbane | |
| 21 Oct 1916: | Involvement Private, 940, 15th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Boonah embarkation_ship_number: A36 public_note: '' | |
| 11 Apr 1917: | Imprisoned Bullecourt (First), Taken Prisoner but escaped 7 months later via the Netherlands | |
| 30 Sep 1918: | Promoted AIF WW1, Corporal, 15th Infantry Battalion | |
| 29 Apr 1920: | Honoured Military Medal, Bullecourt (First), Captured at Bullecout 1, Fred Peachy was awarded the Military Medal for ‘gallant conduct and determination’ for his successful escape from German captivity seven months later | |
| 21 Jun 2019: | Promoted AIF WW1, Sergeant, 15th Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
From AWM
Fred Peachey was a 21 year old baker at the time he enlisted in Grafton NSW, on 19 September 1914. He was appointed Private in the 15th Battalion, embarking from Melbourne on 21 December 1914. After training in Egypt, the 15th Battalion arrived in Gallipoli on 4 June 1915. Peachy was wounded two months later, during the Koja Chemen Tepe offensive in August 1915, receiving gunshots to the head and arm. He was initially transferred to hospital in Heliopolis, and then relocated to Australia to recover. He embarked again in October 1916, this time disembarking in Plymouth, and from there proceeding to France on 15 January 1917. Three months later, on 11 April 1917, he was taken Prisoner of War during the first battle of Bullecourt. On his capture he was ordered, alongside two others, to retrieve the bodies of Australian soldiers from the trenches. They were told to bury the bodies in shell holes, with 20 or 30 in each hole. Peachy estimates he buried 200 soldiers. He spent seven months as a Prisoner of War, working behind German lines in France and Belgium, before a remarkable escape from Quartes, Belgium, on 5 November 1917. Peachy escaped alongside Private Jack Lee, from the 14th Battalion. Their escape route first took them to Frasnes, in south-western Belgium, where Peachy gained a map from a young Belgian girl, which she’d concealed in a rubbish heap. The following three weeks saw Peachy and Lee manoeuvring towards the Netherlands border. They arrived at Rotterdam on 27 November 1917. From there the British Consul arranged their repatriation to England on the S.S. Peregrine. They arrived in England on 30 November 2017. Peachey remained on duty in England until returning to Australia in August 1919. He married Alice Maria Scott Pettit (23, West Row) at the Parish Church Mildenhall 12/12/1918. During this time he was promoted from Private to Corporal, and then to Sergeant. He was discharged on 17 October 1919. He was awarded the Military Medal for ‘gallant conduct and determination’ for his successful escape from German captivity. Following the war, Peachey served in the NSW police force. He died on Armistice Day, November 11, 1964, aged 72.
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