Local Heroes WW1

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Last Updated: Tuesday, 02 June 2015 20:54

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(Cap) Frederick James Stanley Mead DCM MC

Captain Frederick James Stanley Mead 324, of the 10th Battalion from Semaphore, South Australia. A Wharf builder prior to enlisting on 19th August 1914, he embarked for overseas from Adelaide, South Australia, on board Transport A11 Ascanius on 20 October 1914. He was awarded a Distinguished Conduct Medal on 19 April 1917 and a Military Cross on 4 February 1919

MEAD, Frederick James Stanley DCM MC

Born 30 June 1890 at Parkside, South Australia. Son of the late John Mead, who was a French Polisher by occupation. He was educated at the Parkside Public School and at the outbreak of the Great War was residing with his parents at Semaphore, and was a wharf builder by occupation.

Prior to joining the AIF he had not served with any Australian Military Force unit. Early in August 1914 he proceeded to the Naval Depot at Largs Bay for the purpose of enlisting with the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force which sailed for New Guinea on 19 August 1914. With several other applicants he was rejected, and then presented himself at the Parade Ground in Adelaide, for enlistment with the AIF. He subsequently joined the 10th Battalion at Morphettville on 19 August 1914 and as a Private was allotted to original D Company. His regimental number being 324. He embarked with the original Battalion on HMAT A11 Ascanius on 20 October 1914 and proceeded to Egypt, where he eventually embarked on the Ionian for the Dardanelles.

He landed with his company from the destroyer Scourge at the historic landing on 25 April 1915. A few weeks later he was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal, and on 30 May 1915, was wounded,
and proceeded to Egypt, where he was admitted to No.1 General Hospital at Heliopolis. He returned to Gallipoli, and arrived at Anzac on 8 July 1915 as the main body of the Battalion was about to
proceed to the island of Imbros for three days' rest.  Shortly after he was promoted to the rank of Corporal, and when the Battalion was withdrawn from Anzac on 21 November 1915, he had attained the rank of temporary Sergeant, and whilst in Lemnos, December 1915, he was made a full Sergeant.

He accompanied the B attalion to Egypt on the Seeang Bee, and subsequently to France on the Saxonia. In the Pozieres attack in July 1916 he was Acting Company Sergeant Major, and then reverted to the rank of Sergeant, and in the Mouquet Farm attack of 1923 August 1916 he distinguished himself by directing a lost platoon, for which he was awarded the DCM
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Early in September 1916, whilst in the Ottawa Camp, he was promoted to the rank of company Sergeant Major, and on 27 September 1916 whilst in the line at the famous “Hill 60” Ypres, was promoted to the rank of RSM, which rank he retained until 24 January 1917, when he was promoted to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant, and appointed Platoon Commander in B Company, under the command of Captain W F J McCann.

Prior to the Le Barque attack in February 1917 he was transferred to A Company under the command of Captain C Rumball. Early in May 1917 he attended the Divisional School at Piquigny, where he remained for a month, and was thus precluded from taking part in the Bullecourt operations.  On 24 May 1917, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and seconded for duty with the 3rd Training Battalion.  He subsequently returned to the Battalion, with which he remained until 14 July 1917, when at Bray he was attached to the permanent cadre and transferred to the 3rd Training Battalion at Lark Hill, England, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel R B Jacob.

Seven months later he returned to France, and rejoined the 10th Battalion at the Aldershot Camp in February 1918. On 1 April 1918, at Hollebeke, he was appointed 2nd in Command of a special raiding party, of which Captain A H MacDonald  was O.C.   The first night this raiding party was put in action the O.C. was wounded and forced to evacuate, when it devolved upon him to assume command of the party.  At Meteren he was 2nd in Command of B Company, under Major C Rumball, and when the Battalion moved into supports he was appointed Liaison Officer and sent for duty to the 11th Battalion until the 10th was relieved. In the attack on Mont de Merris, on 2-3 June 1918, he commanded No.13 Platoon of D Company , and played an exceptionally brilliant part in the moving forward of stores.

For this splendid work he was awarded the Military Cross (MC), which was promulgated in the London Gazette on 16 September 1918. He was thus the only member of the 10th Battalion who could claim the distinction of winning both the MC and DCM.

When the Battalion moved south after the capture of Merris, he was appointed Battalion Intelligence Officer, and retained this position until 26 August 1918, when he was appointed Orderly Officer to Lieutenant-Colonel M Wilder-Neligan DSO, DCM, and became permanently attached to Battalion Headquarters. At Cappy, on 26 August 1918, he had hurriedly gathered every spare man and rushed him to the part of the line which was being most hard-pressed.  In a confidential report to Brigade Headquarters, Lieutenant-Colonel Neligan said:

“To assist in dealing with any centre of opposition not touched by artillery, a special platoon was organised by Lieutenant F J S Mead.  It was made up of Battalion Headquarters, and moved forward with the attacking companies, and although its services were not required for any particular work, id did excellent work in the advance.”

He shortly after proceeded on furlough, and in this manner missed the final operation of the Battalion at Jeancourt. He subsequently rejoined the 10th in France, and on 28 October 1918, whilst the Battalion was at Brucamps, he was appointed O.C. Headquarters Company and promoted to the rank of temporary Captain.  

On 14 January 1919, he received his Captaincy, and remained with the Battalion until it was finally disbanded at Chatelet on 17 March 1919, after which he stayed on with the Brigade details until early in April 1919. He then proceeded to England, where at the Sandhill Camp, near Warminster, he was appointed O.C. of Staff Company during demobilisation.

Early in July 1919 he was selected as O.C. Of a party of five to form a 1st Divisional Colour Party.  In this capacity he proceeded with his party to Paris, where he carried the 10th Battalion Regimental Colours in the Victory March through that city on 20 July 1919. He then returned to London for a similar march through that city.

Returning to Sandhill Camp, he proceeded on extended leave. In August 1919, at Tilbury, he embarked on the Wahehe with his wife, who he had married at Bristol, on 5 September 1918, there being two daughters of that union. He arrived back in Adelaide late in December 1919. His services with the AIF terminating on 30 December 1919.

Returning to civil life, he recommenced his pre-war occupation of wharf-building, but on 8 September 1927 he joined the Staff of the Adelaide City Council, and subsequently was appointed Ward Foreman, which position he still held in 1935.  He was appointed a Lieutenant on the Reserve of Officers as and from 1 January 1920.

He had been an Executive member of the Semaphore sub-branch of the R.S.S.I.L of Australia for several years, and also had been prominently connected with the 10th Battalion AIF Club.
In 1935 he was residing at 42 South Terrace, Semaphore. He was affectionately known to his comrades of the 10th Battalion as “Butcher".
- Extract  from “The Fighting 10th”, Adelaide, Webb & Son, 1936 by C.B.L.

Description

Private (Pte) L W Lee and Pte F J S Mead (later Captain, MC DCM) skylarking with bayonets outside a tent at the 10th Battalion camp at Mena. Australian troops trained at Mena before embarking for the Gallipoli Peninsula.

ID number     A02127
Collection     Photograph
Object type     Black & white - Glass original half plate negative
Photographer     Unknown
Place made     Egypt: North Egypt, Mena
Date made     1915

Description

Group portrait of the officers of the 10th Battalion at Neuve Eglise, Belgium. Identified from left to right, back row:

Lieutenant (Lt) Charles Reddie Allanson from Elsternwick, Victoria (later awarded MC and MSM);

Lt Philip Arthur Singleton from Glebe, NSW;

Lt Richard Graham Smith MC from Unley, South Australia;

Lt Arthur Hedley Goode, from Adelaide, South Australia;

Lt Robert Armytage Paxton from Fitzroy, South Australia;

Lt Cleve James Scott MC from Gawler, South Australia (killed in action in France on 22 July 1918);

Lt George Sidney Lightbody MC from Norwood, South Australia;

Lt William Harvey Blake from Brompton, South Australia;

Lt Cyril John Paisley from Bunbury, Western Australia;

Lt Alfred Thomas Hill MC from Adelaide (died of wounds in France on 30 May 1918); and

Lt Frederick James Stanley Mead MC DCM from Semaphore, South Australia (later promoted Captain).

Middle row:

Lt Wilfred Drew Sharland MC from Unley Park, South Australia;

Lt John Morris McInerney from Mt Gambier, South Australia (killed in action in France on 28 July 1918);

Lt William McDonald Perry, Quartermaster from Deep Lead, Victoria;

Lt Edward Laurence Angove, Signal Officer from Brighton, South Australia (killed in action in France on 23 August 1918);

Lt Ferdinand James William Schneider from Glenelg, South Australia;

Lt Francis Ernest Pennington MC DCM from Carlton, Victoria;

Lt Arthur Limb, Transport Officer from Gawler, South Australia;

Lt John Gladstone Sinclair from North Adelaide (later promoted Captain);

Lt Michael Penrose Gatliff from Camberwell, Victoria;

Lt Thomas Leo Corcoran from Mt Gambier (later awarded MC and died of wounds in France on 30 May 1918);

Lt Cecil Claude Marcellin Chabrel from Adelaide;

Lt Keith Grant from Adelaide; and Lt John William Searcy from Adelaide (later awarded MC).

Front row:

Lt Carl Fritz Stanton Jorgensen, Assistant Adjutant from Wayville, South Australia;

Captain (Capt) William Howard Perry MC from Broken Hill, NSW;

Reverend Chaplain Edward Makeham, Padre from Perth, Western Australia;

Major (Maj) Horace Norman Henwood from Goodwood, South Australia (killed in action in Belgium on 1 March 1918);

Maj George Dorricutt Shaw, Commanding Officer from Hindmarsh, South Australia;

Capt Walter Gordon Cornish MC, Adjutant from Adelaide (later awarded French Croix de Guerre);

Maj Sydney Vere Appleyard DSO, Medical Officer from Sydney, NSW;

Capt Hector Roy Heming from North Adelaide; Capt Alexander Henry MacDonald from Wayville, South Australia; and

Lt James Davidson MC from Port Pirie, South Australia (later promoted Capt).

ID number     E01783
Collection     Photograph
Object type     Black & white - Glass original whole plate negative
Photographer     Unknown Australian Official Photographer
Place made     Western Front: Western Front (Belgium), Messines Area, Neuve Eglise
Date made     23 February 1918

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Honours

Captain Frederick James Stanley Mead DCM MC was certainly entitled to wear two ‘Wounded Stripes’ on the left forearm sleeve of his tunic. When he was wounded at Galliopli on 5th of June, 1915 and again on the 25th of Febuary 1917 in France. From 336,931 Australians who embarked for overseas service (excluding the RAN), there were 155,133 ‘woundings’ (including gassing and shell-shock). There were 5,583 Australian soldiers wounded three times, 807 four times, 105 five times and 10 six times. One soldier is recorded as having been wounded seven times.

This was a strip of narrow gold Russia braid, two inches in length, worn perpendicularly on the left sleeve of the jacket to mark each occasion a soldier was wounded badly enough to be evacuated from the front line.

He was later awarded the 1914-1915 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal Trio  which were sent to him by Base Records Melbourne in about 1921.

The 1914-15 Star rewarded operational service within a theatre of war between the commencement of hostilities on 5 August 1914 and 31 December 1915. Almost 2.3 million Stars were awarded throughout the Commonwealth, of which 82,000 were awarded to Australians serving in an Australian unit.

The British War Medal 1914-1920 was awarded to members of British and Imperial forces for service between the outbreak of hostilities on 5 August 1914 and the Armistice on 11 November 1918, although eligibility was extended to include service in various theatres up to 1920. There were 338,000 medals in silver awarded to Australians.

The Victory Medal 1914-1919 was awarded to members of British and Imperial forces for operational service only, between 5 August 1914 and 11 November 1918, although eligibility was extended to include service in various theatres during 1919. There were 336,000 medals in silver awarded to Australians.

MILITARY HONORS. SERGEANT MEAD, D.C.M

Sergeant Fred J. S. Mead, who has been awarded the D.C.M., was born at Parkside, in June, 1890. He was educated at the Parkside State School, where he took his compulsory certificate at the age 0f 12. He was a good all-round athlete, playing football for the St. Oswald and Semaphore Central clubs. He enlisted as a private on the outbeak of the war, and left for the front two years ago". He went through the Gallipoli campaign, being wounded once. His many acts of kindness and his jovial nature have won him many friends. - The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931), Wednesday 25 October 1916, page 6 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article6462688  

Military Cross Record

The Semaphore War Memorial was dedicated in 1925 to honour all of those from the district who fought in the war, such as Private Albert Bernard Antonson.

Local commemoration

The Semaphore War Memorial on the Esplanade was dedicated in 1925 to honour all of those from the district who fought in the war. A temporary ‘Memorial Arch’ of wood and iron was first erected at the entrance to the Semaphore Jetty bearing the banner title, ‘For King & Empire’. On 27 April 1924, four foundation stones for the new memorial were laid at the approach to the jetty – one on behalf of the citizens of Port Adelaide district, one for the RSSILA, one on behalf of the parents of the fallen men, and one on behalf of the widows and orphans.

Captain Frederick James Stanley Mead DCM MC  was most likely among the several thousand people who attended the unveiling of the Semaphore War Memorial on 24 May 1925. With him would of been his wife Elizabeth.

The following year, a granite obelisk was erected on the foundation stones, with an electric ‘turret type’ clock and topped by a marble Angel of Peace with wings outspread. The local newspaper noted, “all the names of those who enlisted from the district or who made the supreme sacrifice cannot be placed on the monument” so it instead bears a simple commemorative plaque.

On 27 April 1924, four foundation stones for the Semaphore War Memorial were laid at the approach to the jetty – including this stone laid by Colonel Charles Philip Butler DSO (ex-43rd Battalion AIF) on behalf of the returned sailors and soldiers such as Captain Frederick James Stanley Mead DCM MC.

Semaphore & Port Adelaide RSL

For the 2015 commemoration of the Anzac Centenary, the Semaphore & Port Adelaide RSL has created a virtual Honour Board listing the names of over 2,000 local men who volunteered to serve in World War 1. Among them are counted Frederick James Stanley Mead, a Wharf builder and a twice wounded veteran of service in Gallipoli, France and Flanders.

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