S11527
GOLDNEY, Frank George
| Service Number: | 4437 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | Australian Veterinary Hospital |
| Born: | Gawler, South Australia, 8 April 1895 |
| Home Town: | Gawler, Gawler, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Gawler, South Australia, Australia, 27 June 1954, aged 59 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Willaston General Cemetery, South Australia |
| Memorials: | Gawler Council Gawler Men Who Answered the Call WW1 Roll of Honor, Gawler War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 25 Mar 1916: | Involvement Private, 4437, 27th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Shropshire embarkation_ship_number: A9 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 25 Mar 1916: | Embarked Private, 4437, 27th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Shropshire, Adelaide | |
| 2 Dec 1916: | Involvement 27th Infantry Battalion | |
| 10 Feb 1917: | Involvement 108th Field Artillery (Howitzer) Battery, Joined the 108th Tunnelling in France | |
| 4 Aug 1917: | Involvement Australian Veterinary Hospital |
Help us honour Frank George Goldney's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Kate Hubmayer
Frank was a son of George and Margaret Goldney who lived on a farm on the Gawler River, north of Adelaide, South Australia. He was the 6th of eight children. His grandfather Henry Fonteroy Goldney emigrated from England to South Australia aboard the ship Fairlie in 1840, established the farm on the Gawler River and married Mary Ann Duke, who was also from England.
Frank enlisted in Adelaide on 29 January 1916 at age 21, and was sent to France in July 1916.
He served with a number of different units in France, including 27th Battalion, 48th Battalion, 108th Tunnelling, and the Australian Veterinary Hospital, near Calais.
The Veterinary Hospital was established at Coquelles near Calais in April 1917. Frank arrived there in August. The hospital accommodated 1,250 horses and was staffed by seven officers and 459 men. 25,000 horses were treated during the 18 months of its existence for injuries, disease and poisonous gas.
According to his Service Records, Frank was somewhat of a larrikin, he was disciplined for leaving the guardroom without permission, smoking in the stables, being absent from roll call and for delivering meals to others through the guard room windows.
He was sick with bronchitis numerous times, and got sepsis in his toe after working with the 108th Tunnelling unit.
He spent 16 months working at the Veterinary Hospital in France, then in January 1919 he finished his service and returned to Australia in May 1919.
He returned to live in South Australia, but never settled down or married. There are numerous police reports where he was arrested for offensive behaviour, being “idle and disorderly” and not paying fines, and he spent short times in prison. He moved around country South Australia working as a laborer, and finally died in Gawler in 1954 at age 59. He had no (known) children.
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