Laurence Charles Frith (1897 - 1917)

Born 1897 in Melton, Victoria, Australia

Died 15 May 1917 at about age 20 in Bullecourt, Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France

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Biography

Laurence Frith was born in the Colony of Victoria (1851-1900)

Laurence was born in 1897.

Laurence was killed in action 15 May 1917.

Birth

Surname: FRITH
Given Names: Laurence Chas
Event: B
Father: Chas Thos
Mother: Sarah TWEDDLE
Birth Placet: MELTON

Laurence Frith is an Anzac who served in World War One.

Lance Corporal Laurence Frith was killed in action during World War I.

Laurence Frith was awarded the British War Medal.

Laurence Frith was awarded the Victory Medal.

World War One Service

The AIF Project - Laurence Charles FRITH
Regimental number: 2899
Place of birth: Toolern, Victoria
School: Parkes Superior Public School, New South Wales
Religion: Methodist
Occupation: Labourer
Address: Parkes, New South Wales
Marital status: Single
Age at embarkation: 19
Next of kin: Father, Charles Frith, Parkes, New South Wales
Previous military service: 42nd Infantry; Served in Senior Cadets, 2Lt.
Enlistment date: 10 August 1916
Rank on enlistment: Private
Unit name: 54th Battalion, 7th Reinforcement
AWM Embarkation Roll number: 23/71/4
Embarkation details: Unit embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A11 Ascanius on 25 October 1916
Rank from Nominal Roll: Lance Corporal
Unit from Nominal Roll: 54th Battalion
Fate: Killed in Action 15 May 1917
Place of death or wounding: Bullecourt, France
Age at death: 19
Age at death from cemetery records: 19
Place of burial: No known grave, Commemoration details: Australian 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: 159, Miscellaneous information from cemetery records: Parents: Charles Thomas and Sarah FRITH, "Glenhaven", Parkes, New South Wales, Other details War service: Western Front, Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal.

The AIF Project
^[2]

Virtual War Memorial Australia
^[3]

National Archives of Australia
^[4]

Commonwealth War Graves
^[5]

Sources

1. ↑ Federation index, Victoria 1889-1901, Year/Reg. Number:21243/1897
2. ↑ The AIF Project[1]
3. ↑ Virtual War Memorial Australia[2]
4. ↑ National Archives of Australia[3]
5. ↑ Commonwealth War Graves[4]