Francis William Swann

Francis William Swann

Personal Information
Date of Birth	c1869
Place of Birth	Sebastopol, Victoria
Death	7 Nov 1951
Place of Death	East Perth, Western Australia
Age at Enlistment	44 years, 1 month
Description	5'11" (1.80m) tall ; 168lbs 76.203 kg ; dark complexion ; brown eyes ; grey hair
Occupation	Miner
Religion	Church of England
Address	4 Wedge street, West Perth
Next of Kin	Wife , Mrs Elizabeth Swann
Military Information
Reg Number	3215
Date of Enlistment	22 Nov 1916
Rank	Pte
Unit/Formation	46th Battalion , 8th Reinforcement
Date of Embarkation	29 Dec 1916 ‒ 3 Mar 1917
Ship Embarked On	HMAT A34 Persic Fremantle to Devonport
Date of Return	9 Dec 1918 ‒ 19 Jan 1919
Ship Returned On	HMAT A8 Argyllshire
Monument	Gosnells Road Board Honour Roll
Medals	British War Medal Victory Medal

War Service

Signed his enlistment papers in Kalgoorlie on 19 Nov 1916, and entered Blackboy Hill camp on 22 Nov 1916. On 2 Dec 1916 he was allocated to the 8th reinforcement draft for the 46th Battalion and following basic training he went with them to England.

On arrival in England he was sent to the 12th Training Battalion at Codford. While there he was admitted to the 1st Australian Dermatological Hospital for 20 days from 24 May to 12 Jun 1917. On 13 Aug 1917 he proceeded overseas to France through Southampton and spent some time in the Base Depot before joining the 46th Battalion on 1 Sep 1917. Given his advanced age, on 26 Nov 1917 he was detached to the 12th Infantry Brigade Canteen before rejoining the battalion on 13 Oct 1918. On 20 Nov 1918 he returned to England and was sent to the No 2 Command Depot at Weymouth.

On 9 Dec 1918 he was returned to Australia on the basis of advanced age, and discharged by the 5th Military District on 3 Mar 1919.

Notes

Link to Gosnells district not evident from his records, but is the best match for the name on the Gosnells Road Board Honour Roll. Ancestry suggests his birth date was closer to 1869 than 1872.