Frederick Rawlinson

Frederick Rawlinson

Personal Information
Date of Birth	18 Apr 1894
Place of Birth	Leeds, England
Age at Enlistment	20 years, 5 months
Description	5'7" (1.70m) tall ; 148 lbs 67.132 kg ; fair complexion ; brown eyes ; brown hair ; small tattoo left wrist
Occupation	Baker
Religion	Church of England
Address	GPO Perth, Western Australia
Next of Kin	Father , Mr Arthur Rawlinson
Military Information
Reg Number	408
Date of Enlistment	21 Sep 1914
Rank	Private
Unit/Formation	16th Battalion, C Company
Date of Embarkation	22 Dec 1914 ‒ 1 Feb 1915
Ship Embarked On	HMAT A40 Ceramic
Fate	Prisoner of War capture 11 Apr 1917 near Reincourt Returned to Australia
Monument	Kelmscott-Armadale Parish Roll of Honour The Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial Ballarat, Victoria
Medals	1914-15 Star British War Medal Victory Medal

War Service

Soon after entry to Blackboy Hill camp, Fred was allocated to the 16th Battalion (on 16 Oct 1914), and was posted to 'C' Company. His records lack detail, but he would have travelled to Egypt with the battalion aboard HMAT A40 Ceramic, departing Melbourne and disembarking in Alexandria on 1 Feb 1915. On 15 Feb 1915, Frederick was admitted to the Detention and Isolation Hospital Abbassia, and following 49 days treatment he was released to duty on 4 Apr 1915.

Fred travelled with the 16th Battalion to Gallipoli, leaving Alexandria aboard HMT Haida Pascha on 12 Apr 1915. On 4 May 1915 he was admitted to the 2nd Australian Stationary Hospital while it was located on HMHS Gloucester Castle, travelling from Kapa Tepe to Alexandria. He was admitted to the Kasr-el-Ainy Hospital in Cairo on 10 May 1915, with a sprained ankle and he was transferred to a convalescent Camp at Camp Helwan (a suburb of Cairo) with rheumatism on 24 May 1915 before being released to Base details at Zeitoun on 13 Jul 1915. In a number of pages of his military records there is mention of him being wounded in action at the Dardanelles, but nowhere is their information as to what that injury might be (defective vision??). On 21 Jul 1915 he embarked on HMT Kingstonian to rejoin his unit at Gallipoli. However by 5 Aug 1915 he was again unfit for service on the peninsular, and was placed aboard SS Devanha which was acting as a hospital ship, and evacuated to the Cottonera Military Hospital on Malta due to defective vision. Hospitalised briefly on Malta (2 days), he was then sent to England aboard HMHS Franconia where he was admitted to the Military Hospital at New End in Hampstead on 9 Sep 1915.

AWOL from 13 Oct 1915 until 16 Oct 1915 (3 days), he was awarded 3 days detention, and a total forfeiture of 6 day's pay when his case was heard on 20 Oct 1915. Fred had two brief periods (9 & 3 days) where he sought medical treatment for Venereal Disease between January and April 1916, and he was again AWOL from midnight 21 May 1916 until noon 28 May 1916. With a prior history he was awarded 168 hours detention and the loss of a further 7 day's pay (total forfeiture 14 day's pay). Both AWOL offences appear to have occurred while he was with the No. 2 Command Depot at Weymouth. On 16 Jun 1916 Fred was transferred to Whestham Camp from Monte Video camp in Weymouth, and in August he was debited 3 shillings (30 cents) to replace some missing kit. However, before transferring he was AWOL from the Guard Room, and also drunk while on guard duty, earning himself a rebuke and 7 days extra duties. He was also charged with overstaying his leave from Midnight 28 Aug 1916 until 2:00pm on 29 Aug 1916 for which he lost a day's pay and was awarded 7 days extra duties. On 4 Jan 1917 he was charged with having been absent from fatigue duty from 9:00am until 4:00pm 3 Jan 1917, and again absent from fatigue duty from 7:00am until 4:00pm 4 Jan 1917. He was awarded 28 days Field Punishment No. 1 as a result of those charges.

Fred embarked for France again on 9 Sep 1916 and returned to the 16th Battalion via the 4th Division's Base Depot on 4 Oct 1916. He was hospitalised again in France from 22 Oct 1916 to 14 Dec 1916. Old habits returned and on 4 Jan 1917 he was absent from fatigue duty from 9:00am until 4:00pm 3 Jan 1917, and he was again absent from fatigue duty from 7:00am until 4:00pm on 4 Jan 1917. This time he was awarded 28 days Field Punishment No. 1. Fred was in the front line with the 16th Battalion when they attacked the Hindenberg Line near Reincourt in a battle later known as 1st Bullecourt. Fred was one of the more than a thousand Australian soldiers captured on 11 Apr 1917 near Reincourt. .

He spent most of his time as a Prisoner of War as an inmate of the Dúlman Camp in Germany. Repatriated to Ripon camp in England on 30 Dec 1918, he was granted leave until 3 Feb 1919. He was then AWOL from 3 - 13 Feb 1919 for which he was awarded a total forfeiture of 20 day's pay, and sent to No. 2 Command Depot at Weymouth to prepare for his return to Australia. Five days later he was transferred to the No. 1 Command Depot in Sutton Veny and was again AWOL from 11:59pm 27 Mar to 10:45am on 2 Apr 1919. He was admonished, and forfeited 10 days pay.

On 12 Jul 1919 Fred married Helen Whitehead of Leeds (aged 25). Fred was AWOL again between 27 Jul and 3 Aug 1919, and this time forfeited 21 day's pay. Finally, on 19 Oct 1919 he was demobilised and discharged in London.

Post War

On 29 Nov 1939 Frederick enlisted in the 9th Battalion, The West Yorkshire Regiment.

External Links

• AIF Project
• RSL Memorial
• Ballarat POW Memorial