Frederick Ward
Stephen LearmonthFred was born in 1897 in Tallangatta, Victoria. He was one of at least five children to John and Bridget Ward. John initially worked as stockman for Herriot Brothers and A.T. Thompson. He then selected land in Tallangatta Valley. Fred’s father passed away in about 1910.
The Upper Murray and Mitta Herald contained many articles relating to the Gallipoli Campaign in the first half of 1915. These articles not only described the fighting but also included lists of local boys who had either been killed or wounded. Letters from those serving overseas were also published. It is possible that these articles in the local newspaper contributed to Fred’s keenness to enlist but, at 18, he was underage. There is no doubt that he would have been pressuring his mother to give him consent to enlist. On the 19th of July, 1915, she succumbed to the pressure and wrote a letter stating;
“I Bridget Ward being the only parent alive hereby agree to Frederick Ward my son enlisting for the Australian Expeditionary Forces.”
That very day he walked to the recruiting office in Tallangatta and enlisted. He was allocated the Regimental Number 4334 and placed in the 13th Reinforcements for the 5th Battalion. His older brother Norman enlisted one week later. He was initially posted to the 20th Castlemaine Depot Battalion Camp where he remained for three months undertaking his basic training. His next posting was to Williamstown where he was officially taken on strength with the 13th Reinforcements. Norman had also been posted to the same unit and it was on the 29th of December, 1915, that both brothers embarked on HMAT A64 Demosthenes at Melbourne and set sail for overseas.
Fred hadn’t long arrived in Egypt when he was admitted to the No. 1 Auxiliary Hospital with influenza. Five days later he was sent to the 1st Australian General Hospital at Heliopolis suffering from typhoid. He would remain there for a further two months. In early May of 1916 Fred embarked on the troopship Caledonia at Alexandria, arriving in Marseilles eight days later. After a long, slow train journey across France he joined the base depot at Etaples. Once again his health took a turn for the worse and on the 27th of May he was admitted to the No. 26 General Hospital suffering from the mumps. He was discharged to duty three weeks later on the 17th of June. In late July he was posted to the 1st Pioneer Battalion.
On July 12th, while participating in a training route march he decided to explore the local countryside. He was charged for “leaving ranks without permission on Route March (2) A.W.L. from 12 noon on 12.7.16 to 3.30 p.m. on 13.7.16”. Such “unofficial leave” was almost a normal practice for Australian troops and many service records contain at least one occasion of wandering off. For his little holiday Fred was”awarded” seven days confined to barracks and forfeiture of two days pay.
By September of 1917 the 1st Pioneer Battalion was located in and around Ypres. Their main task was the construction and repair of railways and roads. On the 12th of that month, whilst working on the roads, the battalion was caught in a German bombardment with gas shells. Twelve other ranks (privates) inhaled sufficient gas to warrant being sent back to the 12th Casualty Clearing Station and, eventually, to the 14th General Hospital. Fred was one of those OR’s. He rejoined his unit on the 14th of November.
Fred was one of those men fortunate to be granted two weeks leave in the United Kingdom. He left on Boxing Day 1917. He would turn 20 while he was on leave and would have certainly celebrated his birthday in some fashion. One week after returning from leave he was admitted to the 2nd Field Ambulance, this time suffering from gonorrhoea. This was his fourth time in hospital since he left Australia suffering from his fourth different ailment! He was admitted to the 39th General Hospital at Havre. His condition worsened with the swelling of his kidneys. On the 19th of March he was sent back to England and admitted to the 3rd Auxiliary Hospital at Dartford.
A medical report dated the 8th of June describes his condition on that day.
“Pale, anaemic. Puffy face. Lower part of back (in bed) and leg pit on pressure - improving. Albumin in urine [a sign of kidney disease]. Heart: aortic [a sign of the heart valve thickening] 2nd sd. Acc. Heart sounds rather muffled. Has not cleared up as well as most of the cases seem to do here.”
Other notes include a reference to the first time that Fred suffered kidney problems. This was in 1915 where apparently he had his first attack, although he didn’t report it. The Medical Board found that Fred was permanently unfit for General Service and temporarily unfit for Home Service.
By the end of June Fred was discharged to a hospital ship and returned to Australia. He was admitted to the 11th Australian General Hospital at Caulfield, Victoria on the 18th of October. At 0520 on the 8th of November 1918 Fred passed away. The official cause of death was “acute Nephritis, oedema of lungs, and heart failure”.
Fred was buried in the Tallangatta Cemetery on the 10th of November. He is remembered on the Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, and the Towong Shire Boer War and WW1 Memorial in the Tallangatta Memorial Hall. For his service during the First World War, he was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.
