Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Son of Julius Lorenzo FRIZONI and Marianne (Margaret) Hester nee GRAY, of The Moorings, Lindisfarne, Tasmania.

Lieutenant-Colonel Wellesley, of the 12th East Yorkshire Regiment, has written, under date November 22, to Mr. and Mrs. Frizoni, of Lindisfarne, with reference to the death of their only son, Lieutenant Frizoni, at the front in France. He says : - "Dear Mr. Frizoni, I am writing on behalf of what is left of my battalion to try to express to you their deep sympathy with you in the loss of your son. In him I have lost one, of my best officers, and also a great friend. He was most popular with all ranks, and an ideal leader of men. I regret to say he was fatally wounded in the back, and lay on the parapet in the German line. Three men at once tried to get him down, but in doing so they were all killed. I regret to say we were unable to bring his body back to our lines, as we had to evacuate the position which he had captured and held for over twelve hours. He wished to transfer to the Engineers, but I had such a high opinion of him that I persuaded him to remain with us. Our losses were very heavy, but the battalion did very well, all due to the way they were led by their officers. If he had lived through the attack he would have been proud of the good work done by his company. I can't tell you how I shall miss him. Please accept my deepest sympathy, and, believe  me, I do feel for you in your great sorrow. Yours, sincerely, C. G. Wellesley, Lieutenant Colonel, 12th E. York R.

Lieutenant Frizoni was born at Taylor's Bay on 23rd September, 1891. He left for India with his parents, and returned to Tasmania with them in 1903, and was a student in Hutchins School. He again went to India, and from there to England in May, 1912, as he had decided to take up mining, with the object of passing as a mining engineer. On the 13th July, 1912, he joined Moltby Main Colliery, near Rotherham, S. Yorkshire, as an articled student. He attended Sheffield University in 1913, as it was desirable for him to take the "mining diploma" course and passed second in the autumn term for 1913. Shortly after the war broke out he joined the Coldstream Guards, and early in December, 1914, he accepted a commission in the 12th East Yorkshire Regiment. He was, soon after joining, gazetted brigade bomb officer. He always had an inclination for engineering, and had arranged to get his commission and services transferred to the Royal Engineers, but his brother officers induced him to stay on with them, and so he withdrew his application for the Royal Engineers. He saw service in Egypt, and from there was sent to France. Whilst serving there he was wounded and sent to hospital. After recovery, he rejoined his regiment in France, and in one of his last letters to his parents he mentioned that he had been strongly recommended for a captaincy. He was with his regiment, it is assumed, at the battle of the Ancre, and apparently his regiment was between Grandecourt and Hebuterne, for it was here that the Germans multiplied their guns and introduced additional divisions. On the 17th and 18th November 1916, the War Office cabled to his father that his son, Lieutenant 0. L. Frizoni, of the 12th East Yorks, was wounded and missing on 13th November, 1916. Any further news will be sent if received. The East Yorkshire Regiment have the following to their credit : --Blenheim ; Ramillies; Oudemarde; Malplagnet; Louisburg; Quebec, 1759; Martinique, 1762, 1794, 1809; Havannah; St. Lucia, 1778; Guadaloupe, 1810; Afghanistan, 1879-80; South Africa, 1900-2."