Ball, Frederick Worledge

No.562 – Sergeant Frederick Worledge Ball 28^th Battalion AIF

Frederick Worledge Ball was born at Camden, London, England to Frederick Augustus Ball & Jane Murphy in 1889. After attending school in London; Frederick took up employment as a Clerk at the Post Office. This also corresponded to his service in the Territorial Army unit, The Post Office Volunteers. He travelled to Australia in 1909 when he was 21 years old. He disembarked in Fremantle and took up living in the Port City, residing in High Street Fremantle. He became well known in the community through his work through church and social areas. Fred was also secretary of the Fremantle Liberal League and President of the Fremantle Young Liberals.

On the 13^th March 1915 he offered his services to the AIF and was accepted. His medical examination found Frederick to be 5 feet 10 inches in height; weight of 146 lbs; chest measurement of 33-36 inches; fresh complexion; blue eyes and brown hair. His religious denomination was Church of England.

Frederick was initially sent to No.13 Depot Company and then to C Company of the newly forming 28^th Battalion AIF. He trained with the 28^th Battalion in Perth until their departure from Fremantle on the 29^th June 1915 aboard the H.M.A.T. Ascanius.

Frederick was promoted to Sergeant prior to departure, and he helped train the men of his platoon when they reached the sands of Egypt. The 28^th Battalion embarked for Gallipoli on the 4^th September 1915, arriving at the peninsula a few days later. On the 14^th September 1915 Sergeant Frederick Ball was killed by shrapnel from a Turkish shell. He was buried at No.2 Outpost Cemetery by a Reverend Taylor.

Unfortunately, after Sergeant Ball was buried his exact location in the cemetery was not recorded with the result that when the war graves parties came to Gallipoli in 1919 they could not locate the exact spot. This also occurred to several other Australian soldiers who had been buried in this cemetery. The result of this was that a headstone was erected in New Zealand No.2 Outpost Cemetery to No.562 Sergeant Frederick Ball 28^th Battalion AIF but with the notation printed on stone ‘Believed to be buried in this Cemetery’.

His mother who was living in Shepherd’s Bush London received Frederick’s personal effects as well as his war medals.