BALL, Frederick Walter
| Service Number: | 351 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Lance Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 30th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Boolaroo, Lake Macquarie Shire, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 23 October 1917, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Menin Gate Memorial (Commonwealth Memorial to the Missing of the Ypres Salient) |
World War 1 Service
| 9 Nov 1915: | Involvement Private, 351, 30th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '16' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Beltana embarkation_ship_number: A72 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Nov 1915: | Embarked Private, 351, 30th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Beltana, Sydney | |
| 23 Oct 1917: | Involvement Lance Corporal, 351, 30th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 351 awm_unit: 30th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Lance Corporal awm_died_date: 1917-10-23 |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
Frederick Walter BALL, (Service Number 351) born at Lambton on 18 February 1895, was 20-years-old when he was granted leave to join the Expeditionary Forces in July 1915. He had been working for the NSW Railways as a cleaner at Hamilton depot for 18 months. cleaner was the designation given to the first rung in the career path towards becoming an engine driver.
At the time of his enlistment he had already spent three years in the Militia as a member of the 16th Infantry at Newcastle. On his enlistment papers he nominated his step-mother, Annie Maria Ball of Boolaroo as his next of kin, but then had second thoughts and changed the choice to his father, William Edward Ball. His initial service was marked by several ‘crimes’ for which he was fined, though these may have been caused more by high spirits ill-discipline than malice. He travelled to France aboard HMAT ‘Beltana’ at first to Suez and then on HMAT ‘Honorata’ to Marseilles 23 June 1916. Over the next months he spent some time in England suffering from several illness but returned to France in mid-1917. He was made Lance-Corporal in early November, but this was a nominal promotion only, as he had been killed in action on 23 October 1917.
His parents seem to have derived some comfort from this late promotion as they corresponded with the military authorities seeking confirmation which was at first not provided. They had been led to believe by his commanding officer, Captain Arthur White, that he had become a Sergeant, but this was not true. His body was buried in an isolated grave south-west of Zonnebeke, 3¾ miles East of Ypres. Like so many others his grave was later lost and he is now commemorated on Menin Gate Memorial at Ypres
(NAA B2455-3047061)
Submitted 10 May 2023 by John Oakes