David Lewis Fagence
From Our Contribution
 Ancestry.com | |
| Personal Information | |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 23 Feb 1871 |
| Place of Birth | England |
| Death | 11 May 1949, aged 75 |
| Place of Death | Gosnells, Western Australia |
| Military Information | |
| Reg Number | Munition Worker Number 2674 |
Pre War
Arrived in Fremantle on 8 May 1911 from England aboard SS Australind (departed London on 25 March), with wife Henrietta and 8 children.
Post Office Directory has an entry for 1914 - Maddington.
War Service
In 1916 a 45 year old David Fagence sought to join the AIF but was unsuccessful.
By this time in the war the workforce in Britain had been sorely affected by lack of skilled labour. This was caused by the Conscription Act of 1916, which called up able bodied men for the armed forces. Therefore a programme to address this shortage was agreed between the Imperial Government in London and the Australian Government to recruit chemists, and various other skilled men to strengthen the workforce in armament production in the UK. The Australian Government sought volunteers for the Australian Munitions Workers scheme from August 1916. With no compulsory conscription in Australia during the First World War the men had to be volunteers, and many who came forward were men who had migrated to Australia prior to the war from Britain and wanted to help in the war effort. David was one of those who answered the call and travelled back to the UK as a munitions worker in 1917 (As yet his signed “Agreement” documents have not been digitalised at the National Australian Archives), therefore the type of work that he was engaged on currently unknown. The Australian Government issued a service badge to denote their area of war service, which they wore on their civilian clothes.
After the war the munitions workers were returned to Australia on the same troop ships as the servicemen, David embarked from Devonport, England on the SS Bahia Castillo arriving at Fremantle on 22 September 1919.
Post War
Wife Henrietta Susan (nee Polley) died on 4 Oct 1965 in Gosnells aged 94.
Post Office Directory - 1935-36 Austin avenue, Kenwick.
Electoral Roll entries: 1925 - 1943 Railway street, Kenwick, plumber
Notes