Adcock, Frank and Frederick
“Only a Small Proportion Returned”
394 Frank Henry Adcock and 1044 Frederick Benchley Adcock 11th Battalion AIF
District Headquarters Perth
29th September 1915
The Secretary
Department of Defence
Can any information be supplied please, in regard to
No.394 Pte F.H.B.Adcock,
No.1044 Pte F.B. Adcock,
“B” Company 11th Battalion, who have been reported wounded?
Their mother is making anxious enquiries as to the nature of their wounds and the hospital in which they are being treated.
(Sgd) J.H.Bruche, Colonel.
Commandant, 5th Military District[i]
Early Life
The Adcock’s were relatively new to Australia, having emigrated from Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, England a few years prior to the war, Frank (pictured) arriving with his mother aboard the ‘Omrah’ in 1911 & Frederick a few years later in 1913.
Setting up home in Solomon Street Fremantle, Frank worked for the Water Department while also taking a keen interest in agriculture with the hope of taking up farming. Frederick was employed as a mariner in Fremantle though he had been a Mechanic Apprentice in Liverpool for 4 years & worked in this trade for Wolf & Co prior to leaving for Australia.
Enlistment
The onset of the Great War put any future hopes on hold for the boys as both enlisted for the AIF. Frank presented himself to the Military Authorities at the Fremantle Drill Hall on the 15th August 1914 where he was medically examined by Captain Brennan[i], who up until the outbreak of war was working at Fremantle Hospital. Frank was passed as fit and was sent to camp at Helena Vale where Colonel Lyon Johnston confirmed his enlistment. Frank was appointed to the original D Company of the 11th with the regimental number 394.
Frederick enlisted a month later than his brother in September 1914. The 11th Battalion had been filled by the time he arrived at Blackboy Hill Camp so Fred was assigned to the original C Company of the 16th Battalion with the Regimental No.7. Only a short time was spent with the 16th however as Fred was crossed off their nominal roll and managed to get transferred to the 11th Battalion. Fred joined his brother in D Company with the regimental number 1044.
Embarking from Fremantle on the A11 “Ascanius” on the 2nd November 1914 the boys travelled to Egypt. With the reduction of the 8 Company system into 4 Companies, their D Company was transferred (along with C) to make up the new B company. The men of the newly formed B Company came largely from the Fremantle & Perth districts.
Training
Unfortunately no information has been found relating to the Adcock’s personal experiences in Egypt but fortunately others in B Company wrote their diaries at the time.
No.411 L/Cpl George Blay[i] wrote that;
“January 6th: We are having a real Egyptian sandstorm. You cannot see a yard, sand everywhere & cuts like H---. We have to cover rifle magazines with old socks & plug the barrel but still it gives hours of work cleaning out the sand. We packed rifles and kits on the ground & in a short while we had to dig them out of feet of sand…
February 5th: We have a swarm of locusts, they are everywhere about 3” long they hurt if they hit an unprotected part and they hit the tents like a stone….
February 12th: More fighting on Canal, Turks repulsed. Again we march to Tigers tooth & mock battle before French, Russian & English officers. Some reinforcements joined battalion tonight.
February 13th: Some of our Engineers returned from Suez Canal bringing back some of our pontoon boats riddled with Turks bullets.
February 28th: Off at last, tents are down and packing all day. It is very hot. Leave camp 6.30pm. March into Cairo 1.am. Entrain from Alexandria 2.30am.”
The 3rd Brigade, including the 11th Battalion was off to Lemnos Island. Leaving on March 2nd the Adcock boys were with the rest of B Company traveling on the “Nizam”. According to No.448 Pte Ed Inman[i] of B Company;
“The accommodation on the “Nizam” is rotten, no tables or conveniences whatever. The latrines are in an awful state. Drew anchor and sailed 1.15pm. At 2.30 we got news that our destination was the island of Lemnos, 60 miles from the mouth of the Dardanelles. Not a single cheer was given. The trip is expected to last 2 ½ days.”
Upon arrival at Lemnos Island the men were quartered on the ships in the Harbour but if it was not too rough the men were taken ashore for route marches & training. George Blay noted that;
March 6th: Still more troopships arriving, amongst them some Indian & French troops. No shore leave allowed yet.
March 7th: Some of the marines who have been at the Dardanelles told us of their experiences. They landed to put the guns out of action after the warships bombarded the forts. They had picked wildflowers on the slopes of Cape Helles.
March 8th: At last we are able to stretch our legs. We go ashore for a route march. There is not much to see, only a few inhabitants who are Greek peasants very primitive and shy. Where we went ashore is a village of one road with a few stone shacks huddled close together. The main building is the church and the head of the community is the priest who saluted us on landing. They were the Greek national dress, very quaint and they look clean & healthy.
March 9th: Again went ashore for a march, it is very hard marching on these rough & hilly roads.
March 23rd: We have been addressed by our colonel to the effect that the 3rd Brigade have been picked out of all the troops to do the job of Landing. 9th, 10th & 11th Battalions a great honour and expect only a few would come out of it.
Training went on through April and the men on Lemnos noticed the increased preparations as more ships pulled into the Harbour carrying Australian, New Zealand, British & French troops. The Battalions of the 3rd Brigade also began to receive more instruction as to their task ahead. No.464 Sergeant Ted Mofflin[ii] of B Company noted that;
“On Monday the 12th our Colonel with all the other CO’s went up to the Dardanelles on the “Lizzie” to see the chosen landing places. Every day saw the arrival of more troops. We were being lectured nearly every day about the landing, we were shown the map, and the three landing places pointed out. It was then that we were told the 3rd Brigade was chosen to be the covering party for the Australians. Troops were to land at the three places simultaneously. By now the lads were getting worked up, and every day you could see several men round the grindstone, grinding their bayonets”
For the 11th Battalion, A & C Companies were given the honour of making the initial landing for their battalion but would be followed up soon after by B & D Companies.
Ted Mofflin noted some experiences of the men of B Company leading up to the landing;
“Monday 19th A & C Companies away practicing again, and we were shown how to carry our packs so as we could slip them off on landing. About 15 bluejackets came on board to help with the boats, and I got quite chummy with one of them. They were men who were saved off the Ocean & Irresistible that struck mines in the Dardanelles. They told us some great old yarns. The WA Company of the 12th came on board that afternoon carrying all their landing gear, 200 rounds of ammunition, 3 days rations, firewood, water and a full pack. I could hardly lift all the gear from the deck with one hand. Wednesday 21st We, B & D Coys embarked on the destroyer Chelmer from which we were to land and had landing practice. “Tip” our Colonel lectured us about the landing. He told us we were the “chosen few” and that it would be all bayonet work because it would be dark at first, also that there would be no stopping or moving back, we would have to go on and hold everything and every inch of ground we got, and to take very special care of our water, food and ammunition as they didn’t know how long it would be before they could get more up to us. We have got 1 quart of water to last us for 3 days or maybe longer.”
On the 24th April A & C Companies of the 11th departed aboard the “London” while B & D Companies aboard the destroyer “Chelmer”, sailed for the Turkish coast.
Frank & Fred Adcock, in the same section of No.8 Platoon B Company stuck together on the “Chelmer” and later in the whalers which were lashed alongside.
Gallipoli Landing
A & C Companies landed on what would be known as North Beach while B Company was still disembarking from the “Chelmer”. George Blay wrote of B Company’s experience that;
“we steam slowly, hardly moving, in the meantime sailors come around quietly giving us hot cocoa, biscuits & cheese, no smoking allowed, everything so quiet. Orders are passed along in whispers, then in the darkness we are told to man the life boats (or whalers) these were lashed alongside to planks fixed out from shipsides, each one has a sailor or midshipman as coxswain, we pack in like sardines before we are all loaded. A shot is fired from shore at us & the first shot fired we shall never forget it broke the tense spell, also killed Pte Williams[i]…Anyhow we pushed off towards shore, we could only just sight a little darker than the sky & then the fire from rifles & machine guns became general from the shore, we had to run the gauntlet all the way until the boats grounded…when we jumped out of the boats we were up to the armpits in water as the boats were so heavy laden they were only the gunwale above water, we had to scramble over the beach to cover, which was a ridge about 8 inches high which the high tide had made with sand.”
After the landing the men of B Company were spread among the hills & gullies of Anzac. From here what happened to Frank & Fred Adcock (pictured) is sketchy. It seems more than likely that they were both drawn to the fighting in the vicinity between Quinn’s Post & Baby 700.
What is certain is that by the time the 11th Battalion survivors mustered for roll call on the beach days after the landing, neither Frank nor Frederick were there.
What had happened to them? First reports that came back to Australia in June 1915 were that both boys had been wounded with nothing further being known. With no more news coming in an anxious Charlotte Adcock began contacting the local Defence Authorities & the Red Cross. Towards the end of 1915 encouraging news began to appear from soldiers returning from stints in hospital that the Adcock brothers were okay though even these reports were conflicting. No.983 Pte William Shields[ii] stated that;
They were both in the original landing, and both survived it and were both allright about three weeks later, though one had been wounded in the hand and lost some of his fingers, and the other (the elder) had been shot through the lungs. The elder was in No.15 General Hospital at Alexandria.
On returning to the 11th, Corporal Kirton[iii] of B Company told a member of the Adcock’s platoon that both the brothers had been in England with him at Manchester hospital.
This brought some hope to Charlotte that her sons may still be well but a search of the hospitals in Alexandria & England could find no soldiers by that name.
Had Kirton & Shields mixed up the Adcock’s with one of the other sets of brothers of B Company, several of whom had been in hospital in Egypt & England? Shields admitted that he did not know the brother’s first names so it’s possible that not knowing them well he confused them with others. Unfortunately Kirton could not later expand on what he said as he died early in 1916.
Increasing the mystery of what happened was that Charlotte received a postcard from Frank apparently dated 1st May 1915 & postmarked the 21st May 1915 which stated that;
“Fred and I have been cruising about in an old whaler for the past month. We have had a glorious time. Occasionally we would take a walk over the hills”
An unnamed wounded returned soldier stated that while on Lemnos the two brothers had ran stores from the shore to the transports and this sounds like what Frank’s postcard refers to. Was this postcard held up in Egypt by the Postal Service or was it sent on & dated by a well meaning soldier friend of the Adcock’s. We may never know the real answer.
Despite much letter writing Charlotte never found what had actually happened to her two sons & and by the time a Court of Enquiry was held at Fletres in France in April 1916, there seemed to be no one in the battalion who could shed any further light. Both Frank & Frederick were therefore listed as Killed in Action on April 25th 1915.
Charlotte, by now living in the mining town of Collie WA, sadly accepted this official news and in June 1916 wrote to authorities for both her sons death certificates.
However Vera Deakin of the Red Cross continued to search for information for Charlotte & wrote to original members of B Company in the hope they could shed more light on their fate. In July 1916 Vera contacted No.493 Sgt Baxter Westbrook[iv] of the 11th. He stated that Frank & Fred Adcock along with other members of his platoon No.412 Pte James Carrington[v]; No.423 Pte Arthur Devenish[vi] & No.444 Pte Ernest Hearle[vii] had landed with him but he had become separated from them and had seen nothing more of any of them since that time.
News came in from other members of B Company in July 1916 that the men the Adcock’s landed with were indeed seen well in front of the position later known as Quinn’s Post. Cpl Jim Durward[viii] had stated that Carrington, Devenish & their platoon Sergeant No.420 John Chamberlain[ix];
“were last seen on the left flank of the line about 1 & ½ miles in from the beach at Anzac Cove. This was about as far as the line penetrated, though a good many individuals got a bit further. Of these only a small proportion returned.”
This was backed up by No.478 Sergeant Duncan Sharp[x] who stated that the ground they occupied in front of Quinn’s was later lost and Carrington never came back after the order for retirement was given. Did the Adcock brothers therefore die with the other men of their platoon well in front of Quinn’s?
However in August 1916 further news came in from No.416 Pte Percy Clark[xi] who was recovering from wounds received in France. He stated that;
“On April 25th on Anzac Beach I saw one of the Adcock Brothers being carried on to a hospital ship wounded. I cannot tell which one it was. I was running past the stretcher and called out to him. I was afterwards told that he had died. My informant was C Braidwood[xii] B Company 11th Battalion. Braidwood was also wounded at the same time and recovered and was sent out again. I hear he has again been wounded.”
What Happened to the Adcock Brothers
No further news about Frank or Fred’s fate came forward to Charlotte from the authorities during the war years as she moved from Collie, back to Perth and then out to Guildford. Finding nothing to keep her in Australia, Charlotte moved back to London in 1920 where her son’s medals & death plaques were eventually forwarded to her.[1]
When the task came of reconstructing the Gallipoli War Cemeteries, members of the Imperial War Graves Commission made a search for battlefield burials & isolated graves were brought in and bodies recovered. News eventually came through that Frank Adcock’s body had been recovered though records are scant on how & where he was found. He was then buried up at Baby 700 Cemetery in plot D.24, around other men who had fallen that first day of fighting. The men buried on either side of Frank; No.817 Maurice O’Donohue[2] of the 11th Battalion & No.274 Leslie Clifford[3] of the 2nd Battalion had been found buried on or nearby Baby 700 and the same must have occurred for Frank. As this ground was hotly fought over on day one & not occupied by the Australians after April 25th it’s a likely possibility that Frank was buried by the Turks after they had pushed the Anzacs back off Baby 700 for the final time.
493 men are buried in this cemetery but only 43 are known by name. Charlotte chose the following epitaph for Frank’s headstone; “My Truth Is A Sword”
With Frank identified and buried at Baby 700 Cemetery this would mean that it was Frederick Adcock that Percy Clark saw being sent on a stretcher to the transport ship. If Fred had died of wounds aboard one of the ships he would have been buried at sea and with all the confusion over the large numbers of wounded, the authorities on board did not seem to record the names of the large numbers of wounded who had died. Thus Frederick is commemorated on the Lone Pine Memorial. It would be nice to think that Charles Braidwood (whom Percy Clark mentioned) got in touch with Charlotte Adcock after his return from the war to give her more information about Frederick’s death at sea but at the moment that’s something we cannot know.
(In 2008 several WW1 names were submitted to Fremantle Council for inclusion in the database of new Street names. Of these Adcock was the first one to be utilised.)
Notes
[i] From NAA – Prior to joining the 3rd Div AIF Colonel Bruche was Commandant of 5th MD (WA)
[ii] Captain Brennan was the original RMO of the 11th Battalion & ended up the war as a Lt-Colonel with the decorations of DSO, MC, Croix de Guerre & MID (4 times) for his good work in the war. James Hurst book ‘Game to the Last’ mentions that many thought Brennan deserved the VC for his bravery at Gallipoli.
[iii] George Blay – Storeman of South Fremantle. Wounded early in campaign & returned to Australia 1915 – Account from Army Museum of Western Australia
[iv] Ed Inman – Grocer of South Fremantle. Wounded on April 25th 1915 but returned to 11th Bn. Was Commissioned and was awarded the MC at Ypres in 1917. Badly wounded in June 1918 & returned to Australia. Account from Inman family
[v][ Ted Mofflin a Wool & Skin trader from North Fremantle. He served at Gallipoli till July 1915 & Killed in Action July 1916 with 51st Battalion. Account from Army Museum of WA
[vi] Pte No.496 Pte Arthur Williams – Timber Hewer of Kirrup WA. According to George Blay, Williams had a presentiment of his impending death. It was reported in several sources that Williams was killed in action & was the first members of the 11th Bn killed, however the CWGC lists him dying on the 28th April.
[vii] Pte William Shields – Sleeper Hewer of East Kirrup – Returned to Australia but re-enlisted in 1917 and returned to 11th Bn with Reg. No.8042. Red Cross statements
[viii] QMS Alec Kirton – Bank Clerk of East Fremantle – Died of Injuries Egypt 18th February 1916. Red Cross statements
[ix] Sgt Baxter Westbrook – Labourer of Fremantle. He was badly wounded in the 11th’s last fight on September 18th 1918 and had his arm amputated. He died in 1925. Red Cross Statements
[x] Pte James Carrington – Blacksmith of South Fremantle KIA 25th April 1915
[xi] Pte Arthur Devenish - Warehouseman of Victoria Park – KIA 25th April 1915
[xii] Pte Ernest Hearle – French Polisher of Fremantle – KIA 25th April 1915
[xiii] Sgt Jim Durward – Labourer of South Fremantle – Returned to Australia 1920. Red Cross Statements
[xiv] Sgt John Chamberlain – Lumper of Fremantle – KIA 25th April 1915
[xv] Lt Duncan Sharp – Fireman of Fremantle – KIA 10th August 1918. Red Cross Statements
[xvi] Pte Percy Clark – Fireman of Collie – KIA 30th October 1917. Red Cross Statements
[xvii] Pte Charles Braidwood – Tailor of Fremantle – Returned to Australia October 1918 – Died October 1970
[xviii] Charlotte’s husband John is only mentioned as a NoK by Frederick & on the AWM Honour Roll. There was no correspondence written by him. It is not known if he also went back to the UK with his wife.
[xix] No.817 Pte Martin O’Donohue – Teacher of Northam & Kalgoorlie – KIA 25th April 1915
[xx] No.274 Leslie Clifford – Grazier of Bredbo NSW – Is listed officially as KIA 2nd May 1915 but he had been posted missing since April 25th. His brother Conyers Clifford was killed in Egypt with the 7th Light Horse in 1916.