Harrison, Frederick James

5851 Private Frederick James Harrison - 27th Battalion AIF

Frederick James Harrison was born in Birmingham England in 1876 to William and Selina Harrison.

In 1894 he married Maria Thorley and they would go on to have four children, George (1895), Percy (1900), Reginald (1901) and Samuel (1907).

The family lived in Staffordshire and Fred worked as a railway shunter. Fred and Maria decided to move the family to Australia and they arrived in Fremantle on the 24th December 1912.

On his arrival in WA Fred secured employment with the WA Government Railways and worked as a Railway porter. The family were initially living in Wells Road East Fremantle but then moved to Preston Point Road.

On the 6th March 1916 Fred enlisted into the AIF. He was found to be fit for service and the medical examiner recorded Fred's physical attributes as;

Height - 5 feet 5 inches;

Weight - 122lbs;

Chest Measurement - 34-36 inches;

Complexion - Fresh;

Eyes - Grey

Hair - Dark.

After his successful enlistment, Fred was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to the 16th Reinforcements to the 27th Battalion AIF. He trained with this group while they waited for their embarkation orders to arrive. On the 30th October 1916, Fred and his group boarded the transport ship HMAT Port Melbourne in Fremantle Harbour and set sail for England.

After the long sea voyage the ship arrived at Devonport Harbour on the 28th December 1916. Fred and his group were then marched off the ship and sent to the 7th Training Battalion at Rollestone Training Camp on the Salisbury Plains.

Fred joined the 27th Battalion in France on the 12th February 1917. They were then in the line around Flers on the Somme battlefield. He served with his battalion for the next several weeks including the action at Lagnicourt on the 26th March 1917, however the following day he was evacuated to hospital with appendicitis.

Fred had the next few weeks in hospital and was about to be released to return to his unit when he was struck down with influenza. He was also then diagnosed with nephritis and it was decided to evacuate him to hospital in England. Fred remained in hospital till July 1917. He was then medically assessed as not fit enough to return to the front and was then marked down to return to Australia as medically unfit for further service.

On the 27th August 1917 Fred left England on the transport ship Pakeha and returned to WA, disembarking at Fremantle on the 14th October 1917.

Fred was discharged from the AIF on the 1st November 1917.

His son George Frederick Harrison was also serving in the war but survived hostilities.

Frederick James Harrison died at Chester Park Beaconsfield on the 5th August 1929 aged 54. He is buried at Fremantle Cemetery plot Methodist Mon BS 0146