S243773
HURST, Frederick Archibald
| Service Number: | 599 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 1 September 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 2nd Tunnelling Company (inc. 5th Tunnelling Company) |
| Born: | Hyde, Cheshire, England, 5 March 1887 |
| Home Town: | Norwood (SA), South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | 28 September 1956, aged 69 years, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Payneham District Council Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 1 Sep 1915: | Enlisted | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Feb 1916: | Involvement Sergeant, 599, Mining Corps, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '6' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Ulysses embarkation_ship_number: A38 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Feb 1916: | Involvement Sergeant, 599, Mining Corps, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '6' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Ulysses embarkation_ship_number: A38 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Feb 1916: | Embarked Sergeant, 599, Mining Corps, HMAT Ulysses, Sydney | |
| 20 Feb 1916: | Embarked Sergeant, 599, Mining Corps, HMAT Ulysses, Sydney | |
| 11 Nov 1918: | Involvement Sergeant, 599, 2nd Tunnelling Company (inc. 5th Tunnelling Company) |
Help us honour Frederick Archibald Hurst's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Saint Ignatius' College
Fredrick Archibald Hurst’s life starts in Hyde, Cheshire, England, 5 March 1887 born into a christian family to his parents, Elizabeth Hurst and Jonathan Hurst. Before the war he worked as a physical labourer. He was married to Lily Acton, at the age of 21 on the 26th of December 1908 at Haughton St Ann, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom. He enlisted on the first of September 1915 and was given the rank of 2nd Lieutenant of the 2nd Australian Tunnelling Company.
During The War:
Fredrick Archibald Hurst embarked on the HMAT A38 Ulysses ship to the front lines of france on the 20th Feb 1916 were he saw his first Involvement at the battle of Messines.
Battle of Messines:
Between 7–14 June 1917 Fredrick was fighting in the battle of Messines. The tunnelling companies played a major part of this battle. The tunnelling companies of the Royal Engineers consisted of tunnelling companies from British, Canadian, Australia and New Zealand. These tunnellers dug 24–37m undergrown, then for 5.5km off in different direction, at the end of these tunnel there would be chamber full of ammonal explosives (26 mines were used not all exploded, 454t of explosive in total). These explosions cause one of the biggest explosions at the time and has one of the highest kills out of any non-nuclear explosions. These explosions destroyed German positions and killed >10,000 Germans. After having very hard fought battle the British & allies won the battle.
After the battle of Messines he sustained no major injuries or sicknesses. Less than a month later he was involved in Operation Hush, due to his high rank and experience he was sent out over others in his company.
Operation Hush:
During the night of July 1917, Fredrick was sent to the Belgium front with 3 others from the 2nd tunnelling company and 64 men from two infantry battalions for operation Hush an amphibious counter attack, were he swam across a river and hiding in tunnels and dug outs until dark, during setting up for the operation, Fredrick Hurst was one of the first person to encounter the new German gas called “Blue Cross”. Lucky he didn’t experience the worst and was admitted to hospital where he stayed for the next 8 days. After setting up for the counter attack, the operation was cancelled and called an inappropriate attack. After the withdraw he was 1 of 16 wounded.
After The War:
He returned to Australia and was dischargedin 1919 on the 4th of in June. He was enlisted for 3 years, 9 months or 1,368 days. He passed away on the 28th September 1956 at the age of 69. his wife passed away on 26th June 1961 at age of 74 Years. They were both were buried at Magill, South Australia, Australia.
Bibliography:
Sergeant Frederick Archibald Hurst | Australian War Memorial (awm.gov.au)
Blue Cross (chemical warfare) - Wikipedia
Operation Hush - Wikipedia
View digital copy (naa.gov.au)
Frederick A. Hurst 28 September 1956 in BillionGraves GPS Headstones | BillionGraves
Virtual War Memorial (vwma.org.au)
Virtual War Memorial | 2nd Tunnelling Company (inc. 5th Tunnelling (vwma.org.au)
Virtual War Memorial | Payneham District Council Roll of Honor, (vwma.org.au)
Battle of Messines (1917) - Wikipedia
2nd Australian Tunnelling Company - Wikipedia
Frederick Archibald Hurst, "England, Manchester, Parish Registers, 1603-1910" • FamilySearch
Sergeant Frederick Archibald Hurst | Australian War Memorial (awm.gov.au)
Frederick Archibald Hurst, "England Marriages, 1538–1973" • FamilySearch
Biography contributed by Saint Ignatius' College
Fredrick Archibald Hurst’s life starts in Hyde, Cheshire, England, 5 March 1887 born into a christian family to his parents, Elizabeth Hurst and Jonathan Hurst. Before the war he worked as a physical labourer. He was married to Lily Acton, at the age of 21 on the 26th of December 1908 at Haughton St Ann, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom. He enlisted on the first of September 1915 and was given the rank of 2nd Lieutenant of the 2nd Australian Tunnelling Company.
During The War:
Fredrick Archibald Hurst embarked on the HMAT A38 Ulysses ship to the front lines of france on the 20th Feb 1916 were he saw his first Involvement at the battle of Messines.
Battle of Messines:
Between 7–14 June 1917 Fredrick was fighting in the battle of Messines. The tunnelling companies played a major part of this battle. The tunnelling companies of the Royal Engineers consisted of tunnelling companies from British, Canadian, Australia and New Zealand. These tunnellers dug 24–37m undergrown, then for 5.5km off in different direction, at the end of these tunnel there would be chamber full of ammonal explosives (26 mines were used not all exploded, 454t of explosive in total). These explosions cause one of the biggest explosions at the time and has one of the highest kills out of any non-nuclear explosions. These explosions destroyed German positions and killed >10,000 Germans. After having very hard fought battle the British & allies won the battle.
After the battle of Messines he sustained no major injuries or sicknesses. Less than a month later he was involved in Operation Hush, due to his high rank and experience he was sent out over others in his company.
Operation Hush:
During the night of July 1917, Fredrick was sent to the Belgium front with 3 others from the 2nd tunnelling company and 64 men from two infantry battalions for operation Hush an amphibious counter attack, were he swam across a river and hiding in tunnels and dug outs until dark, during setting up for the operation, Fredrick Hurst was one of the first person to encounter the new German gas called “Blue Cross”. Lucky he didn’t experience the worst and was admitted to hospital where he stayed for the next 8 days. After setting up for the counter attack, the operation was cancelled and called an inappropriate attack. After the withdraw he was 1 of 16 wounded.
After The War:
He returned to Australia and was dischargedin 1919 on the 4th of in June. He was enlisted for 3 years, 9 months or 1,368 days. He passed away on the 28th September 1956 at the age of 69. his wife passed away on 26th June 1961 at age of 74 Years. They were both were buried at Magill, South Australia, Australia.
Bibliography:
Sergeant Frederick Archibald Hurst | Australian War Memorial (awm.gov.au)
Blue Cross (chemical warfare) - Wikipedia
Operation Hush - Wikipedia
View digital copy (naa.gov.au)
Frederick A. Hurst 28 September 1956 in BillionGraves GPS Headstones | BillionGraves
Virtual War Memorial (vwma.org.au)
Virtual War Memorial | 2nd Tunnelling Company (inc. 5th Tunnelling (vwma.org.au)
Virtual War Memorial | Payneham District Council Roll of Honor, (vwma.org.au)
Battle of Messines (1917) - Wikipedia
2nd Australian Tunnelling Company - Wikipedia
Frederick Archibald Hurst, "England, Manchester, Parish Registers, 1603-1910" • FamilySearch
Sergeant Frederick Archibald Hurst | Australian War Memorial (awm.gov.au)
Frederick Archibald Hurst, "England Marriages, 1538–1973" • FamilySearch
Click images to start slideshow.