MARSDEN, Frederick Dickson
| Service Number: | 1984 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 30 January 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 9th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1891 |
| Home Town: | Port Douglas, Cairns, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Surveyor |
| Died: | Killed in action, Belgium, 20 September 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
Hooge Crater Cemetery, Belgium Plot X, Row L, Grave No. 15. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Mossman War Memorial, Port Douglas Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 30 Jan 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1984, 9th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 16 Apr 1915: | Involvement Private, 1984, 9th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Kyarra embarkation_ship_number: A55 public_note: '' | |
| 16 Apr 1915: | Embarked Private, 1984, 9th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Kyarra, Brisbane |
Help us honour Frederick Dickson Marsden's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Frederick was the son of Marion Marsden, of the Royal Women’s Hospital, Paddington, New South Wales, and the late John Isaac Marsden. Fred was an only child, and his father died when he was only four months old.
His mother dedicated her life to her work at the Royal Hospital for Women in Paddington, starting in 1899 and rose to be sister in charge of the outpatient’s department, and by 1928 she had attended 8,500 births.
Fred Marsden was a surveyor and was living in Port Douglas, Queensland when he enlisted. He was said to have been an active Cairns footballer.
He served on Gallipoli from June 1915 with the 9th Battalion until he blown up by a Turkish bomb on 9 August 1915. The shell knocked him back 20 feet into a dugout, stunning him and causing a haemorrhage from his left ear and nose. After a rest of four days, he was put back into the trenches but as soon as possible he was sent to Imbros as he was of no use. He was admitted to hospital in Cairo, Egypt, with shell shock and deafness during October 1915.
He eventually rejoined the 9th Battalion in France during October 1916. He died during the Battle of Menin Road on 20 September 1917. His grave was found in 1919 and his remains were shifted to the Hooge Crater Cemetery, Belgium.
An unknown soldier wrote home to a friend, which was published in the Cairns Northern Herald during 1918, “I regret to have to inform you of the death in action of F. D. Marsden (Snowv). He was killed with a cobber by the name of Potter (Darkie) by an enemy's, shell in the forward line only a few; minutes previously. His platoon officer recorded his number and name for recommendation for bravery and devotion to duty in the taking of the objective in which he and Potter lost their lives. They were on special duty running to headquarters from the front line, and were under shell fire always, being a platoon runner to the officer commanding, Platoon Lieutenant Butler, D.C.M. He was the life of our company, and one of the best sports in the football field in France. He was captain of 'Don' Company's football team, was never beaten. Potter was also one of the team. Only a few weeks previous to us going into the line he got up a team from our Company, and they played several matches with the four companies of the battalion, beating them all. Then he undertook to play the A.A.M. Corps, or any battalion team in our area, his challenges being accepted and matches arranged, and he was again successful with his team in defeating allcomers. He never got into trouble, and in the evenings when it got dark and we could not indulge in football or cricket, he used to get up bridge tournaments, and sing-song concerts, and he never tired of working in our interests where sports and enjoyment of any clean kind were forthcoming to lighten our burdens, and when out of the firing line, and in the line, he was the same — no fear of anything ever daunted 'Snowy.'”