2093
BATTAMS, Frederick Alfred Roy
| Service Numbers: | 2408, S212985 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 1 March 1915, Keswick, South Australia |
| Last Rank: | Warrant Officer Class 2 |
| Last Unit: | 25/33 Garrison Battalion (SA) |
| Born: | Adelaide, South Australia, 22 June 1896 |
| Home Town: | Payneham, Norwood Payneham St Peters, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Laborer |
| Died: | Natural causes, Loxton, South Australia, 22 December 1966, aged 70 years |
| Cemetery: |
Barmera (Upper Murray) Garden of Memory Cemetery Section F; Row D; Plot 10 |
| Memorials: | Payneham District Council Roll of Honor, St Peters Heroes of the Great War Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 1 Mar 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2408, Keswick, South Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Sep 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 2408, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Star of England, Adelaide | |
| 21 Sep 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2408, 10th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Star of England embarkation_ship_number: A15 public_note: '' | |
| 13 Jul 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Driver, 2408, 4th Divisional Ammunition Column |
World War 2 Service
| 22 Jul 1940: | Enlisted Private, S212985, Volunteer Defence Corps (SA), Keswick, South Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Jul 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Warrant Officer Class 2, S212985 | |
| 23 Jul 1940: | Involvement Private, S212985, Volunteer Defence Corps (SA), Homeland Defence - Militia and non deployed forces | |
| 20 Apr 1945: | Discharged Warrant Officer Class 2, S212985, 25/33 Garrison Battalion (SA) |
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Next of kin on enlisting was Elsie. His religion was Church of Christ.
22/7/1940 Enlisted at Moorook SA (place of enlistment Keswick).
20/4/1945 Discharged as a Warrant Officer Class 2 - 33 Garrison Battalion.
Sourced and submitted by Julianne T Ryan. January 2016. Lest we forget.
Biography contributed by Adelaide Botanic High School
Frederick Alfred Roy Battams, nicknamed Fred (as seen on the enlistment document) was born on June 22, 1896, in Adelaide, South Australia. At the time of enlistment, he was 18 and 8 months old. His mother's name was Mary Battams (listed as his next of kin). He lived on George Street, Payneham, South Australia. He was employed as a labourer and had a fair complexion, blue eyes brown hair and tattoos on his right and left upper arm. He was 5 foot 8 inches. He was of the Protestant religion.
Fred had no experience in the army; he was enlisted as an A.I.F private on the 1 of March 1915 at Keswick, in the 10th Infantry Battalion. He embarked from Adelaide on the 21 September 1915 on the HMAT Star of England. He was taken on strength by the 50th Battalion 26/2/16.
However, he was only with the 50th until 20/5/16 for the expansion and re-organisation of the Australian Imperial Force in Egypt. He was Absent without leave (AWL) 2 times first on 5/3/16 at 21:30 till 21:45 on 6/3/16 and forfeited 2 days' pay. Then on 1/4/16 from 05:30 till 21:00, he forfeited 1 day's pay. He was then moved to the 4th Divisional Ammunition Column (4th DAC) on the 18th of May 1916. He proceeded to France from Alexandria 6/6/16 and arrived at Marseilles on the 13th. In Octrober 1916 he got into trouble again for being AWL and was punished with 14 days Field Punishment No. 2
On the 8th of February 1918, he was congratulated by the corps commander for courageous conduct when a fire broke out in a Belgian shop. “Throughout the incident [Fred] displayed great courage and presence of mind.”. Not long after, his division supported in the German spring offensive (01/3/18 – 31/5/18).
After Fred and his division went to France to support in the battle of Amiens (08/8/18 – 11/8/18) where they pushed 12km of land by early afternoon. In June 1918 he was admitted ot hospital for a few days due to an absess. He took leave in England in August 1918 for a couple of weeks. Once again he was AWL from 7 pm 18/12/18 till 5 pm 20/12/18.
Fred returned to Australia in May 1919 and spent time in the hospital ship during the journey due to r pyrexia. Fred was discharged from the war on 13/8/19.
Once he returned to Australia Fred lived in Norwood where he married Elise Myra. He fought in World War 2 at age 44 and died of natural causes on the 22 of December 1966 in Loxton, South Australia aged 70. Frederick was buried at Barmera (Upper Murray) Garden of Memory Cemetery, Australia.
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