Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From Australian Remembrance Army

Private Frederick (Fred) Eltham (Service No. 2065), an Australian World War One veteran, is among almost 800 previously unmarked WWI veterans’ graves in Lutwyche Cemetery we have now marked with a plaque recognising their service for Australia.

On 20 September 2025, his plaque was unveiled in Lutwyche Cemetery, along with a further 161 plaques on the previously unmarked graves of Australian World War One veterans:
See Australian Remembrance Army Facebook page

Frederick Eltham was born in 1886 in Faversham, Kent, England, and emigrated to Australia in 1910.
One of his descendants in the United Kingdom wrote to us and said:
“I imagine that he emigrated to Australia in search of a better life, although we’ll never know the true reason. His brother Sidney had gone over there too (Sidney died during WWI in France — they’d enlisted around the same time). Fred was one of the youngest of sixteen children (all of whom survived into adulthood), so there were plenty of mouths to feed. His father owned a brickworks and public house/hotel. Fred’s grandfather was a master lighterman and also owned a now well-known public house and small concert hall in London — later to become Wilton’s Music Hall. So, I imagine the theatrical involvement stemmed from his influence — a nephew went on to tread the boards as part of a comedy double act.”

Fred worked as a salesman before and after the war and lived in Brisbane’s inner suburbs, usually in boarding or share houses. In 1912, he is listed as living at Auburn Villa, advertised as “Auburn Villa, Stephens Street, South Brisbane — double and single rooms vacant, penny section, piano, good table.”

Before enlisting for service in the First World War in 1916, Fred took part in local community events. He helped organise a concert with Mrs Vivian Brahms to celebrate the opening of a concert stage erected by residents at Cribb Island (History of Cribb Island: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cribb_Island,_Queensland).

Frederick Eltham enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in Brisbane on 10 August 1916 and embarked for overseas service aboard Clan MacGillivray from Brisbane on 7 September 1916. He disembarked at Plymouth on 2 November 1916 and arrived in Étaples, France, in late December. Fred served with his battalion until the signing of the Armistice. In June 1919, he returned to Australia on the troopship SS Themistocles, which arrived in August. Private Frederick Eltham was subsequently discharged from the AIF.

Between 1925 and 1928, Fred was residing at Nirvana, 366 Upper Roma Street, Brisbane City. An advertisement in the Brisbane Courier dated 21 June 1930 listed: “At 366 Nirvana, Upper Roma Street — single and double rooms to let, terms moderate.” Fred was a very social man who played the violin at local dances and frequently visited the rural town of Beaudesert, about an hour south-west of Brisbane. He worked for the department store Bayards Ltd, which sent him to Beaudesert every few months. In one newspaper article, Fred was named as the artist responsible for the make-up in a production titled Publicity Pays, described as “a delightful comedy.”
In later years, Fred spent time in the rural township of Beechmont in Queensland’s Scenic Rim Region.

Sometime after 1958, he became a resident of the War Veterans’ Home at Caboolture, established solely for the care of veterans. It was a grand home, though it no longer exists. Fred was admitted to Greenslopes Repatriation Hospital on 15 August 1961 suffering from asthma and emphysema. He was later transferred to the Royal Brisbane General Hospital, where he died on 23 August 1961. He did not marry and had no known children.

After decades without recognition at his place of burial, the grave of Private Frederick (Fred) Eltham now bears a plaque commemorating his service to Australia — ensuring his name endures among those remembered for their duty and sacrifice. His identity has now been restored.

We have remembered him.
Lest We Forget.