ABBOTT, Francis Arthur
| Service Number: | 3170 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 17 February 1917 |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 33rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Penrith, New South Wales, Australia, 1893 |
| Home Town: | Penrith, Penrith Municipality, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Penrith Superior Public School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Grocer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 31 August 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Baulkham Hills William Thompson Masonic School War Memorial, Penrith S P School Honor Roll, Sydney United Grand Lodge Honour Roll, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 17 Feb 1917: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Sergeant, 3170, 36th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 10 May 1917: | Involvement Sergeant, 3170, 36th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Benalla embarkation_ship_number: A24 public_note: '' | |
| 10 May 1917: | Embarked Sergeant, 3170, 36th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Benalla, Sydney | |
| 17 Jul 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Sergeant, 3170, DISEMBARKED PLYMOUTH, ENGLAND MARCHED INTO THE THE 9TH TRAINING BATTALION. | |
| 2 Sep 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Sergeant, 3170, ON COMMAND, BF&PT SCHOOL, TIDWORTH, REJOINED 9TH TRAINING BATTALION. | |
| 29 Sep 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Sergeant, 3170, On Command, BF&PT School, Aldershot, 29 September 1917; attended 21-working days course in the Special & Supply PT & BF, 1-25 October: qualified as 'Good'; rejoined 9th Training Bn, 25 October 1917. | |
| 5 Nov 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Sergeant, 3170, On Command, School of Instruction, Jellalabad Barracks, Tidworth, 5 November 1917; marched in to 9th Training Bn, 17 November 1917. | |
| 25 Dec 1917: | Transferred AIF WW1, Sergeant, 36th Infantry Battalion, Proceeded overseas to France, 18 December 1917; taken on strength, 36th Bn, in the field, 25 December 1917. | |
| 30 Jan 1918: | Wounded AIF WW1, Sergeant, 3170, 36th Infantry Battalion, Admitted to 9th Australian Field Ambulance, 30 January 1918 (tachycardia), and transferred to 1st Australian Casualty Clearing Station; to Ambulance Train, 5 February 1918, and admitted to 8th Stationary Hospital; transferred to England, 13 February 1918, and admitted to Middlesex War Hospital, Clacton-on-Sea (trench fever); transferred to 3rd Auxiliary Hospital, Dartford, 25 February 1918; discharged to No 3 Command Depot, 25 February 1918; marched out to Overseas Training Brigade, Longbridge Deverill, 23 March 1918. | |
| 18 Apr 1918: | Transferred AIF WW1, Sergeant, 36th Infantry Battalion, Proceeded overseas to France, 2 April 1918; rejoined Bn, in the field, 18 april 1918. | |
| 30 Apr 1918: | Transferred AIF WW1, Sergeant, 33rd Infantry Battalion, Transferred to 33rd Bn, and taken on strength, 30 April 1918. | |
| 31 Aug 1918: | Wounded AIF WW1, Sergeant, 3170, 33rd Infantry Battalion, Villers-Bretonneux, Killed in action | |
| 31 Aug 1918: | Involvement Sergeant, 3170, 33rd Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 3170 awm_unit: 33rd Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Sergeant awm_died_date: 1918-08-31 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
Member of Nepean 29 Lodge
From History / Summary - AWM
Born in Penrith, New South Wales, Francis Arthur 'Frank' Abbott was employed as a grocer when he enlisted in the AIF on 16 February 1917. He had previously served in the citizen forces in the 3rd Australian Infantry Regiment for two years, for another two years as a lieutenant in the senior cadets and, from mid-1915, as an acting staff sergeant major instructor at Victoria Barracks in Sydney. Assigned the service number 3170, Abbott was posted a sergeant to the 7th Reinforcements to 36th Battalion. He embarked for overseas service from Sydney on 10 May, aboard HMAT A24 Benalla.
Abbott arrived in Plymouth, England on 19 July and was posted to the 9th Training Battalion as an instructor. He arrived in France, for service on the Western Front in December, and joined his battalion at Houplines, Belgium on Christmas Day. At the beginning of February 1918, suffering from trench fever, Abbott was evacuated to hospital in England. He rejoined his battalion in France, near Villers-Bretonneux, on 18 April. On 30 April the men of the battalion transferred to 33rd Battalion, as Australian units were merged as the number of reinforcements arriving dropped.
Abbott was killed near Peronne on 31 August during the battle to take Mont St Quentin, on a day when 33rd Battalion suffered 121 casualties. He was 25. He has no known grave and his name is commemorated on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial.
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