FREWIN, Oscar Westcott
| Service Number: | S110639 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 14 September 1942, Wayville, SA |
| Last Rank: | Captain |
| Last Unit: | Australian Army Medical Corps (2nd AIF) |
| Born: | Jamestown, South Australia, 17 November 1904 |
| Home Town: | St Peters (SA), Norwood Payneham St Peters, South Australia |
| Schooling: | St Peter's College, Adelaide, South Australia |
| Occupation: | Medical Practitioner |
| Died: | Hackney South Australia, 1 January 1958, aged 53 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 14 Sep 1942: | Involvement Captain, S110639 | |
|---|---|---|
| 14 Sep 1942: | Enlisted Wayville, SA | |
| 14 Sep 1942: | Enlisted S110639 | |
| 16 Sep 1943: | Discharged Australian Army (Post WW2), Captain, S110639, Australian Army Medical Corps (2nd AIF) |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Annette Summers
FREWIN Oscar Westcott MB BS
1904 – 1958
Oscar Westcott Frewin was born, on 17th November 1904, in Jamestown, SA. He was the son of Thomas Hugh Frewin and Ada Mary, nee Sanders. He was educated at St Peter’s College, where he was Dux of the college at the age of 16 years. He studied medicine at the University of Adelaide, graduating MB BS, in 1926. During his university years, he was the secretary of the University Dance Club. He gave evidence, in October 1933, after being at the scene of a fatal injury in a motor accident on Port Road, SA. He married Jean Gardiner Redpath on 31st December 1934. She was the daughter of William Ritchie Redpath and Jessie Mary, nee Cuthberton of Nairne, SA. He took up a GP Practice at Woodside, SA, and then moved his practice to St Peter’s, SA.
Frewin enlisted in the 2/AIF on the 14th September 1942 and had no previous military experience. He was living in Harrow Road, St Peter’s, SA, and named his wife, Jean as his next of kin. He was posted, as a captain, to 101 AGH in SA. He was detached from 101 AGH and appointed to temporary command of 85 Camp Hospital at Cook on the SA/WA border, on 1st March 1943. Here he was responsible for Italian prisoners. He reminisced that ‘he got his grog from the Catholic padre’. He returned to 101 AGH fourteen days later. Frewin also said that he was disappointed that he was unable to be sent overseas due to his affliction of rickets as a child. He remained with 101 AGH until 31st August 1943, when he was transferred to 121 AGH. He requested the termination of his appointment in September 1943, and was transferred to the Reserve of Officers, on 16th September 1943.
Frewin returned to general practice in St Peter’s after his war service. A charge against him, reported in the newspapers in April 1944, over an unknown dog which chased and bit a police constable, on a bike, was dismissed, as there was no evidence that it was his dog. As his experience in general practice progressed, he became very interested in gerontology. The specialist care of the elderly was not considered by the medical fraternity in SA but was beginning to be discussed in Victoria at the time. Frewin had several interests and enjoyed recreational tennis, going on the River Murray with his friends; in addition, he was a founding member of the South Australian Bridge Club. Oscar Westcott Frewin died in Hackney on 1st January 1958. His wife Jean who died in 1979, and his three children; Jolyon, an optometrist, Rosalind, a nurse and Simon, an accountant, survived him.
Source
Blood, Sweat and Fears III: Medical Practitioners South Australia, who Served in World War 2.
Swain, Jelly, Verco, Summers. Open Books Howden, Adelaide 2019.
Uploaded by Annette Summers AO RFD
Click images to start slideshow.