The AIF Project

Frederick William LUCAS

Regimental number5629
Place of birthAdelaide, South Australia
ReligionChurch of England
OccupationLabourer
AddressNorth Fremantle, Western Australia
Marital statusMarried
Age at embarkation37
Height5' 11.5"
Weight147 lbs
Next of kinWife, Mrs Ethel May Lucas, Swan Street, North Fremantle, Western Australia
Previous military serviceNil
Enlistment date6 March 1916
Date of enlistment from Nominal Roll22 February 1916
Place of enlistmentFremantle, Western Australia
Rank on enlistmentPrivate
Unit name28th Battalion, 15th Reinforcement
AWM Embarkation Roll number23/45/3
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Fremantle, Western Australia, on board HMAT A52 Surada on 26 September 1916
Rank from Nominal RollPrivate
Unit from Nominal Roll28th Battalion
FateKilled in Action 26 March 1917
Age at death from cemetery records38
Place of burialCanadian Cemetery No 2 (Plot XXI, Row A, Graves Nos 2 to 4 collective), Neuville St Vaast, France
Panel number, Roll of Honour,
  Australian War Memorial
113
Miscellaneous information from
  cemetery records
Parents: Joseph and Ellen LUCAS
Family/military connectionsNephew: 2399 Pte Gillen Fredrick LUCAS, 10th Bn, returned to Australia, 9 December 1918.
Other details

War service: Western Front

Embarked Fremantle, 22 September 1916; disembarked Plymouth, England, 21 November 1916.

Proceeded overseas to France from 7th training Bn, 21 December 1916; taken on strength, 28th Bn, in the field, 18 January 1917.

Killed in action, 26 March 1917.

Statement, Red Cross File No 1631108, 5604 Pte O.M. HARKEN, 28th Bn, 17 August 1917: 'He was killed while advancing to the attack at Lagnicourt on March 26th. they had gone over earlier in the day and in the afternoon I was following with Trench Mortars. I passed right alongside of his body. He was lying on his back with a bullet wound through his forehead just above the nose. All the chaps in this stunt were buried.'

Second statement by HARKEN, 27 August 1917: 'We were attacking at Lagnicourt on March 26th 1917, and while we were in No Man's Land, and about 150 yards from the German line, I saw him lying dead with a bullet through the head. He had been, I was told, wounded in the head, stood up to remove his equipment, when he received the second shot through the head. I do not know definitely where he was buried, but I know that a party was out removing all the dead, who were buried close to where they lay, which would be about the front of the village.'

Third statement, 5610 Corporal W.M. HONEYMAN, 28th Bn (patient, 83rd General Hospital, Boulogne), 26 August 1917: 'A friend of mine F. Clarke, on Batt. H.Q. Staff, who was with the Batt. when I left, told me he went to bandage Lucas when he was hit in the head, and while doing so, Lucas was sniped in the head, and killed outright I believe. This occurred at Lagnicourt. Fritz was attacking but did not gain the ground.'

Fourth statement, 5536 Corporal A. BRAHAM, 28th Bn (patient, 57th General Hospital, Boulogne), 29 February 1917: 'Lucas was in an attack on Warnicourt on March 26/17 when he was wounded in the hand. Pte. Fred Clarke dressed it and directly afterwards Lucas was shot through the head and killed instantly.'

Fifth statement, 5554 Sergeant C.E. BAKER, 28th Bn (patient, 3rd General Hospital, Le Treport), 8 October 1917: 'It was towards the end of March on the day that Lagnicourt was first attacked. We were in reserve and went up after Lagnicourt was taken for a short time, and were in the Sunken Road. Lucas ... was shot through the head in the sunken road and killed outright, for as we were moving out of the sunken road some of our chaps said to me "There is Lucas over there." and I saw him lying dead. Some of our men went up later and buried the dead.'

Sixth statement, 5663 Pte F.T. SERMON, 28th Bn, 9 October 1917: 'He got sniped through the head and killed outright at Lagnicourt during the day, about 5.30 p.m. He was buried in the open at Lagnicourt.'

Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal

Originally listed as 'No known grave', and name recorded on the Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, France. Remains discovered in an isolated grave in 1955, and reburied in Canadian Cemetery No 2.
SourcesNAA: B2455, LUCAS Frederick William
Red Cross File No 1631108

Print format    


© The AIF Project 2024, UNSW Canberra. Not to be reproduced without permission.