WOODS Frederick

Frederick Woods was born at Yangan on 16th February 1898 one of ten children to parents Richard and Cecily (nee Lingard). He was a single man, aged 19 years who stood 5ft 6 inches tall, weighed 135 Lbs with fresh complexion, blue eyes and brown hair and worked as a dairy farmer on his parent’s property at Cooloothin Creek, Pomona. Frederick and his brother Richard Jnr enlisted in Brisbane on 24th May 1917 and were each assigned to 3rd Australian Field Artillery Brigade and his brother Richard took on the following sequential service number of 38756. Their military service reads the same apart from one entry in 1919 for Richard. Following enlistment they both went into 11th Depot Battalion camp at Enoggera and in December 1917 entrained for Sydney. Overseas deployment started when they embarked aboard H.M.A.T A38 ‘Ulysses’ which sailed on 19th December and travelled to Suez where they disembarked, the first stage completed. There followed a series of changes as he and his brother travelled from Suez across to Alexandria and into Camp ‘A’ Galbray from which they boarded another ship to take them into No. 9 Rest Camp at Taranto. Leaving Taranto they travelled to Cherburg arriving on 14th February 1918 where they boarded H.M.T ‘Prince George’ to arrive at Southampton, England on 15th February 1919 and marched into camp at Heytesbury later that day. Orders to proceed to France arrived and on 31st March 1918 the brothers departed from Southampton and across the channel and into the Australian General Base Depot at Le Havre until taken on strength with 3rd Field Artillery Brigade at Franvillers on 14th April where they each were assigned as Drivers for the brigade. Their war service was uneventful and remained in France and following the Armistice and the systematic demobilization of equipment, horses and troops which started in January and February 1919 Frederick embarked for England on 18th March 1919, his brother Richard had been detached to 1st Field Artillery Brigade in February. The brothers met up again and sailed together to England where both were granted leave from 20th March – 20th June to assist on a civilian farm, a Poplar farm owned by J.W. Shearman at Anwick Fen, Seaford, Lincolnshire. On 1st August their names appeared on List 341 for return to Australia and they sailed aboard H.M.A.T ‘Argyllshire’ and disembarked at Melbourne on 22nd September 1919 before making their way to Brisbane and discharge. Following a return to civilian life Frederick married Mary Alice Ester Tierney on 20th December 1922 and lived firstly at Nambour and from around 1936 at Cushnie, Tingoora where he was a farmer and later a laborer. They had 5 children. Frederick died on 21st February 1948, aged 50, and is buried at Tabinga Cemetery in section S3SS3, plot 37. Mary lived her last days in Farr Home Nursing Home at Kingaroy and had lived to see her 101st birthday when she died on 20th July 2001, she is buried alongside Frederick.

Cootharaba Honour Roll, Pomona Hall, Reserve Street, Pomona

Shire of Noosa Roll of Honor, Shire Council Chambers, Pelican Street, Tewantin

Nambour (Maroochy Shire) Roll of Honor Scroll, Private Collection, Nambour (this scroll was available for sale to the public after the war)