FREEMAN, Jack
| Service Number: | 2477 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 5 July 1915, Melbourne, Vic. |
| Last Rank: | Sapper |
| Last Unit: | 2nd Field Company Engineers |
| Born: | Bairnsdale, Victoria, Australia, 15 November 1891 |
| Home Town: | Northcote, Darebin, Victoria |
| Schooling: | State School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Joiner |
| Died: | Died of wounds, France, 15 November 1916, aged 25 years |
| Cemetery: |
St Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen Block O, Plot II, Row E, Grave No. 2, St Sever Cemetery Extension, Haute-Normandie, France |
| Memorials: | Albert Park South Melbourne & Sydney Swans Football Club Honour Roll, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Northcote Presbyterian Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 5 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Sapper, 2477, 2nd Field Company Engineers, Melbourne, Vic. | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Dec 1915: | Involvement Sapper, 2477, 2nd Field Company Engineers, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '5' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: RMS Mooltan embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 11 Dec 1915: | Embarked Sapper, 2477, 2nd Field Company Engineers, RMS Mooltan, Sydney | |
| 28 Jul 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Sapper, 2477, 2nd Field Company Engineers, Battle for Pozières | |
| 18 Aug 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Sapper, 2477, 2nd Field Company Engineers, Mouquet Farm, Shell shock. Remained with unit. | |
| 2 Nov 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Sapper, 2477, 2nd Field Company Engineers, 'The Winter Offensive' - Flers/Gueudecourt winter of 1916/17, Severe SW to both legs (amputated) while in a work party near Flers. Evacuated to hospital train en-route to UK when he died of his wounds near Abancourt, France 15 November 1916. |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Robert Wight
On 15 November 1916, on his 25th birthday, Freeman died of horrific injuries suffered fighting for his country in France after enlisting 16 months earlier in the AIF.
Sapper Freeman, a soldier engaged in military engineering duties, had been with a party of engineers carrying out important works near the firing trench when two enemy shells exploded among them.
Several died instantly and others were badly wounded. Freeman had both legs amputated and died in a military hospital train at Abancourt in northern France when hospital authorities were preparing to send him to England.
He had sent a cable to his parents stating that “he had a leg broken and two other wounds but was not too bad’ before the Defence Department confirmed the worst.
Prior to enlisting, Freeman, a 170cm full forward, played 22 games for South Melbourne in 1913-14. Despite his lack of height, he kicked 39 goals in his short career and was South’s leading goal-kicker in 1914 and was equal sixth in the Victoria Football League.
Source: Sydney Swans FC