APPLETON, Frederick William
| Service Number: | 3007 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 5 July 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 14th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 1882 |
| Home Town: | St Kilda, Port Phillip, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Balaclava State School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Clerk |
| Died: | Killed in action, Morcourt, France, 8 August 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
Cerisy-Gailly Military Cemetery Plot III, Row E, Grave No. 19. HE GAVE FOR US |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 5 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3007, 14th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3007, 14th Infantry Battalion | |
| 16 Oct 1915: | Embarked Private, 3007, 14th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Port Lincoln, Melbourne | |
| 16 Oct 1915: | Involvement Private, 3007, 14th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Port Lincoln embarkation_ship_number: A17 public_note: '' | |
| 27 Jun 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 14th Infantry Battalion | |
| 18 Apr 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 14th Infantry Battalion | |
| 8 Aug 1918: | Involvement Lieutenant, 14th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: awm_unit: 14 Battalion awm_rank: Lieutenant awm_died_date: 1918-08-08 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Frederick William Appleton was a yachtsman of some note prior to the war, his brother stated on his roll of honour form that he was “A prominent member of Royal Yacht Club, St Kilda Yacht Club, Brighton Yacht Clubs, being a successful skipper of the six-metre yacht ‘Rip’, which defended the Northcote Cup on several occasions.”
Frederick was obviously also a very good soldier, being promoted to Second Lieutenant only a few months after serving on the Western Front. He was mentioned in despatches for assisting or coming to the aid of Albert Jacka’s platoon when Jacka was awarded the Military Cross for attacking a party of Germans who had captured a large number of the 48th Battalion, during a German counter attack at Pozieres on 7 August 1916. The Australian official historian, Charles Bean, described Jacka’s actions at Pozieres, as "the most dramatic and effective act of individual audacity in the history of the AIF." Jacka was severely wounded during the action as was Lieutenant Appleton, who was evacuated to England with a bullet wound to the nose.
Appleton re-joined his battalion in France during late November 1916. He was again badly wounded at Bullecourt on 11 April 1917 when shot through the front of the thigh. The Battalion history states he only escaped capture by crawling some 1200 metres through the snow back to the Allied lines. He was again evacuated to England and it was six months before he re-joined the 14th Battalion in France.
He had been promoted to Lieutenant and was in charge of a platoon at Morcourt when he was killed in action during an Australian attack. He was awarded a French Croix de Guerre after his death.
Frederick Appleton’s dad had passed away when he was a child and his mother passed during 1917 while he was at the war. His brother received his effects, war medals and other entitlements.
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