STOCKTON, Frank
| Service Number: | 5215 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 4 January 1916, Liverpool |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 2nd ANZAC Cyclist Battalion |
| Born: | Wellington, New Zealand, 27 July 1896 |
| Home Town: | Prestons, Liverpool, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Tenambit Public School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Brickmaker |
| Died: | Natural causes, Moorebank, New South Wales, Australia, 23 November 1981, aged 85 years |
| Cemetery: |
Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery & Crematorium, Leppington, New South Wales Cremated |
| Memorials: | Tenambit Public School Roll of Honour, Tenambit Soldiers Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 4 Jan 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 5215, 4th Infantry Battalion, Liverpool | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Apr 1916: | Involvement Private, 5215, 4th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '8' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: SS Makarini embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 1 Apr 1916: | Embarked Private, 5215, 4th Infantry Battalion, SS Makarini, Sydney | |
| 20 May 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 5th Division Cyclist Company | |
| 19 Jul 1918: | Promoted AIF WW1, Sergeant | |
| 16 Apr 1919: | Embarked AIF WW1, Sergeant, 5215, 2nd ANZAC Cyclist Battalion, HT Balmoral Castle, England for return to Australia with wife - disembarking Sydney 15 April 1919. | |
| 31 May 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Sergeant, 5215, 2nd ANZAC Cyclist Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Michael Silver
Frank John Crofskey (Stockton) was a New Zealander, born in 1896 at Wellington, the son of a Polish migrant, Frank John Crofskey and Mary Ann Stevens from Porirua, north of Wellington. For reasons unclear, his father assumed the surname "Stockton", which was adopted for his children.
Frank Stockton migrated to Australia with his family at the age of four, in about 1900. After a short period in Sydney, the family moved to the Maitland area in 1903 where he resided at Tenambit with his parents. In a complicated family environment, the family moved again in 1911 to the Liverpool district, west of Sydney where in January 1914 his father died.
With the outbreak of war, Frank Stockton enlisted in January 1916, raising his age to 21 (to avoid parental permission from his mother) and listing his half sister, Mrs Katie Cruwys of Prestons near Liverpool as his next of kin.
After embarking for overseas in April 1916 he suffered a serious bout of Cerebo Spinal Fever (Meningococcal Meningitis) soon after arrival in England that left him seriously ill for several months.
Throughout 1917 and 1918 he was assigned to the various Command Depots in Dorset, at Bovington (No 3) and Wareham (No 4), as well as being associated with the Cycling Corps. The AIF Command Depots supported soldiers discharged from the military hospitals to recuperate and then get ‘fighting fit’ again.
On 8 June 1918 he married his English bride, Eliza Parker at Dartford, Kent.
In July 1918 he was elevated to EDP (Extra Duties Pay) Sergeant, before the role was removed in August. However in October 1918 he was appointed Temporary Sergeant, a rank he held until his discharge.
Sergeant Frank Stockton and his wife returned to Australia in the HT Balmoral Castle, arriving in Sydney in April 1919. They were to have six children before her death in 1944 aged just 52.
Frank John Stockton married on two further occassions after Eliza's passing, with both predeceasing him. He died at Moorebank in November 1982.
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