Frederic NUGENT

NUGENT, Frederic

Service Number: 1263
Enlisted: 5 July 1915
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: 13th Light Horse Regiment
Born: Corryong, Victoria, Australia, 1894
Home Town: Not yet discovered
Schooling: Not yet discovered
Occupation: Farmer
Died: Corryong, Victoria, Australia, 2 June 1963, cause of death not yet discovered
Cemetery: Corryong Cemetery, Victoria
Memorials: Corryong Wabba & Berringama Districts Pictorial Honour Roll
Show Relationships

World War 1 Service

5 Jul 1915: Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1263, 13th Light Horse Regiment
27 Oct 1915: Involvement Private, 1263, 13th Light Horse Regiment, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '3' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ulysses embarkation_ship_number: A38 public_note: ''
27 Oct 1915: Embarked Private, 1263, 13th Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Ulysses, Melbourne

Fred Nugent

Fred Nugent was born in Corryong, Victoria, in 1894. His mother's name was Lucy, while his father’s name was Thomas. He had one brother, Harry (1896 to 1945) who was two years younger than him.

Fred and his younger brother Harry (sometimes written as Harrie) enlisted on the same day, 5 July, 1915, and were both put on strength with the same unit, the 6th Reinforcements of 13th Light Horse Regiment. Fred and Harry would have adjacent service numbers of 1263 and 1264. At the time of joining up, Fred was a single, 21-year-old farmer from Berringama. He was 5 foot 7 inches (170 cm) tall and weighed 10 stone (64 kg). He had blue eyes, dark brown hair and a fresh complexion.

On the 27 October, 1915, Fred and Harry embarked on HMAT A38 Ulysses and sailed from Melbourne, Victoria. The trip would take them across the Great Australian Bight to Fremantle, on to Colombo, in Ceylon, before finally disembarking at Suez, at the southern end of the Suez Canal. He was taken on strength with the 4th Divisional Cavalry at Tel-el-Kebir on 28 February, 1916.

In Egypt, the AIF went through some major restructuring following the Gallipoli campaign. The infantry component of the AIF was expanded from two divisions to four divisions, while the 13th Light Horse was broken down to provide divisional cavalry squadrons for the 2nd, 4th and the 5th Divisions. These squadrons proceeded to France with their divisions in March and June 1916 and were eventually reunited in July when the 13th Light Horse was reformed as the cavalry regiment for the 1st ANZAC Corp.

On the Western front, terrain and the nature of the war there limited the roles mounted troops could fulfil. However, they were still heavily employed. The 13th Light Horse carried out duties such as traffic control, rear area security and prisoner escort tasks and, when the tactical situation permitted, the more traditional cavalry role of reconnaissance. It was most active during the more mobile phases of war on the Western Front which included the follow-up of the German retreat to the Hindenburg line in early 1917, the stemming of the 1918 German advance and the Allied offensives of August and September 1918. The Regiments largest engagement was during the operations to capture the Hindenburg ‘’outpost line’’ between 5 and 9 September, 1918, when it provided the advance guard, along a front of 13.5 kilometres, for the advance of the Australian Corps. The Regiment had become the Australian Corps Cavalry Regiment upon its formation in November, 1917.

From the time Fred arrived in France on the 10 June, 1916, up until it is recorded he was promoted to Temporary Corporal on the 12 January, 1918, there are no records of what he was doing. We can only assume that Fred served with his unit wherever they were in France. The 13th’s War Diary’s provide us with some information of where Fred could have served.

On the 21 July, 1918, Fred was detached to the Australian Corp Gas School. Here he would spend one week being trained on how to handle gas attacks in the field. The rest of 1918 saw Fred back with his unit in France and being promoted to Corporal on the 1 September. At the time of the Armistice, Fred was detached to the Australian Corp School participating in a course. Early in 1919, he was on leave in England, the same time as his brother, who had unfortunately been admitted to hospital with influenza.

Like much of the Australian Corps, the 13th Light Horse was completing a period of rest and retraining when the war ended on 11 November, 1918. After the armistice, its personnel were progressively returned to Australia for discharge. Fred embarked on the SS Ypiranga and arrived home in Australia on the 15 May, 1919, being discharged on the 27 August of that year. For his service during World War 1, Fred was awarded the 1914/15 Star, The British War Medal and the Victory Medal. As an aside, the ship that Fred arrived home on, the SS Ypiranga, was one of the ships that was in contact with the SS Titanic as she was sinking on the 15 April, 1912.

Very little is known of Fred after he returned from the war except that he passed away on the 2 June, 1963, and is buried in the Corryong cemetery.

Extract from "Light Horsemen of the Upper Murray", Year 5 and 6 Project, Corryong College.

Read more...
Showing 1 of 1 story