The AIF Project

Frederick William ALLEN

Regimental number3978
Place of birthWatergore, South Petherton, England
Other NamesFrederick William
SchoolSouth Petherton School, England
Age on arrival in Australia20
ReligionMethodist
OccupationSugar worker
AddressMrs Winifred Stow, 33 Wilson Street, Yarraville, Melbourne, Victoria
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation27
Height5' 2"
Weight136 lbs
Next of kinFather, Alfred Allen, Watergore Street, Pethertson, Somersetshire, England
Previous military serviceNil (previously rejected for enlistment on account of teeth)
Enlistment date6 July 1915
Date of enlistment from Nominal Roll6 July 1915
Place of enlistmentMelbourne, Victoria
Rank on enlistmentPrivate
Unit name22nd Battalion, 9th Reinforcement
AWM Embarkation Roll number23/39/3
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A69 Warilda on 8 February 1916
Rank from Nominal RollPrivate
Unit from Nominal Roll22nd Battalion
FateKilled in Action 3 May 1917
Place of death or woundingBullecourt, France
Age at death27
Place of burialNo known grave
Commemoration detailsAustralian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, France

Villers-Bretonneux is a village about 15 km east of Amiens. The Memorial stands on the high ground ('Hill 104') behind the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery, Fouilloy, which is about 2 km north of Villers-Bretonneux on the east side of the road to Fouilloy.

The Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux is approached through the Military Cemetery, at the end of which is an open grass lawn which leads into a three-sided court. The two pavilions on the left and right are linked by the north and south walls to the back (east) wall, from which rises the focal point of the Memorial, a 105 foot tall tower, of fine ashlar. A staircase leads to an observation platform, 64 feet above the ground, from which further staircases lead to an observation room. This room contains a circular stone tablet with bronze pointers indicating the Somme villages whose names have become synonymous with battles of the Great War; other battle fields in France and Belgium in which Australians fought; and far beyond, Gallipoli and Canberra.

On the three walls, which are faced with Portland stone, are the names of 10,885 Australians who were killed in France and who have no known grave. The 'blocking course' above them bears the names of the Australian Battle Honours.

After the war an appeal in Australia raised £22,700, of which £12,500 came from Victorian school children, with the request that the majority of the funds be used to build a new school in Villers-Bretonneux. The boys' school opened in May 1927, and contains an inscription stating that the school was the gift of Victorian schoolchildren, twelve hundred of whose fathers are buried in the Villers-Bretonneux cemetery, with the names of many more recorded on the Memorial. Villers-Bretonneux is now twinned with Robinvale, Victoria, which has in its main square a memorial to the links between the two towns.

Panel number, Roll of Honour,
  Australian War Memorial
95
Other details

War service: Egypt, Western Front

Embarked Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force, 21 March 1916; disembarked Marseilles, France, 27 March 1916.

Taken on strength, 22nd Bn, in the field, 31 July 1916.

Admitted to 5th Australian Field Ambulance, 18 November 1916 (appendicitis); transferred to 36th Casualty Clearing Station, 21 November 1916; to 5th General Hospital, Rouen, 22 November 1916; to No 2 Convalescent Depot, 8 December 1916 (colic); to 6th General Hospital, 16 December 1916 (influenza); to 2nd Australian Division Base Depot, Etaples, 11 January 1917; rejoined Bn, in the field, 30 January 1917.

Admitted to 8th Australian Field Ambulance, 8 February 1917 (influenza); rejoined Bn, in the field, 2 March 1917.

Killed in action, 3 May 1917.

Buried by Rev F.H. DURNFORD, opposite Railway Embarkment C.%.9.4.2.
SourcesNAA: B2455, ALLEN Frederick William

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