Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Frederick Edwin Stahl was born in Melbourne on the 12th of March in 1909 in Northcote. When Frederick was in primary school, life in Melbourne was in recovery mode after World War 1. Where Frederick Stahl lived in Northcote, Melbourne had just become a large city and Northcote was considered a low socio-economic area to the rest of Melbourne.
 
Frederick Stahl was five years old when his father went to fight for his country in World War 1. Frederick’s life would have been severely impacted, just like other children during this time. Frederick’s whole life and routines would have been disrupted by the war through the changes to his home life, his schooling, and the absence of his father. (Short, 2014). Food restrictions and services would be also imposed on Frederick and his family. The absence of his father and changes within life routines, would have had a profound effect upon his family. His mother and family members had to endure the long and anxious wait for news from his father through limited communication and random letters. (Anon., 2011)
 
 As Frederik was growing up, he would have experienced the need and importance to support the war efforts. He would have been influenced at school and around the streets of Melbourne by posters and people talking propaganda. Also, hearing news on the radio for children to support their patriot duty to serve their country. The children within the schools were encouraged to salvage materials (e.g. metal) and to recycle it; and to also knit socks and other woollen clothes for soldiers serving in Europe. Frederick Stahl would have been required to assist with these and various fundraising activities to support the men who went to fight. During school time Frederick, would have also needed to go through drills and at home just in case there were air raids or invasions which may have occurred near them.
 
When his father returned from the war, life in Melbourne was in recovery mode from Post-World War 1. This meant that Frederick and his family struggled through many changes in this era which included family life, working conditions, poverty, schooling and services restrictions. It was a hard life for Frederick.
 
When the Second World War started Fredrick wanted to follow in his dad’s footsteps and serve his country. Fredrick was 31 years and 3 months old when he enlisted to become a part of the Australian Army barracks, Fredrick enlisted at Kelvin Grove, Brisbane on the 10th of July 1940 his unit number was QX6306. Fredrick E.S trained in the navy barracks and was able to go to war on 1st of August 1940. Fredrick only trained for less than a month and was able to work on ships as a captain.
 
In 1942 Fredrick was captured by the Japanese and was brought to 105 KILO camp in Burma. During the time that he was at 105 KILO camp, there was one person that all the Prisoners of War (POWs) feared, and his name was Arai. Arai was named the “Boy Bastard” due to the ways that he disciplined the POWs. One way that Frederick described these people was when POWs were kicked for hours which ended up killing some of the POWs. A person that Fredrick E.S knew was Dobbie, one day Dobbie was coming through a gate at the main entrance of the guard’s room and then Arai intercepted him and then bashed him, “Dobbie was kicked all over his body from shins to chin” Fredrick said.
 
On April 19th, 1943, Fredrick was moved from 105 KILO camp to Changi camp; which he was a member of the “F” force, then to be moved to an unknown destination. Fredrick first saw a Korean guard who was called TOYOYAMA at the Thailand railway station at 0500 hours on April 19th, 1943. TOYOYAMA was another person that beat POWs, but it was with a steel pipe. TOYOYAMA would beat POWs over something so small like a sick soldier giving the wrong number. During the 4 months that Fredrick was a Changi camp, he saw TOYOYAMA beat dozens of sick POWS. When in captivity, Fredrick met up with Weary Dunlop, who was the medical officer and helped the Australians and other allied forces that were in the Changi camp that needed medical attention.

 When Fredrick was working on the Thailand-Burma railway he was a part of building the Siamese Thailand railway from Bangkok to Burma. Fredrick and his group had to walk for 3 miles each day to reach the place where they were working. The conditions of the railway building were harsh and were not forgiving due to the way that the Japanese disciplined the POWs. One occasion that Fredrick said is that one of the workers in his group was feeling sick and that Weary Dunlop took the soldier to hospital and later that day the Japanese knew what happened to that soldier. The Japanese talked to the group and said, “Unless the chaps come forward, they would not be allowed to go back home”, Fredrick and his group were in that line for 3 hours. The soldier in the hospital heard about what happened and spoke to the Japanese guards but the guards took no pity on him and bashed him. During the time that he came back from the camps he took a boat to Australia called MV Highland Brigade. The 8th Division signals took a final photo of them all together on the boat before they arrived in Australia.
 
Fredrick ceased service on the 18th of December 1945 after the war finished, he moved with his wife Elaine to Belair, South Australia. Fredrick had to go through court to provide evidence about what it was like to be in the POWs camp and had to write everything he knew about what it looked like and also what happened during the time that he was there. He wrote a small story about a Paean festival in Japan that the Japanese do while they are in the POW camp. While living in Belair Fredrick was sent a letter from the British government stating that he had received an award for mention in dispatches which is for his bravery and service during the time that he was in Singapore as a navy captain. The mention in dispatches is a medal that is red, blue, and white with a leaf. Fredrick died on June 4th, 1996, and is buried in Centennial Park, in South Australia; in the area where all the army veterans are from World War 1 and World War 2.