Not Forgotten, 2154 Private Frederick James PHILLIPS, 2 Pioneer Battalion AIF, World War 1

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Overview

Commemoration of the military service of 2154 Private Frederick James Phillips, 2 Pioneer Battalion AIF, World War 1, died of disease 9 November 1918.

Historical information

Private Frederick James Phillips, the son of Alexander Phillips of Port Arlington in Victoria, was a carpenter who enlisted in Melbourne on 15 March 1916 at the age of 26 and was placed with 2nd Pioneers. Five pioneer battalions were raised by the A.I.F. in early 1916, tasked with digging trenches, constructing strong points and light railways and undertaking battlefield clearance. The 2nd Pioneers assigned to the 2nd Division. Frederick Phillips was taken on strength in the field on 24 November 1916.
In January 1917 Frederick Phillips was admitted to hospital with bronchitis and sent to England via the H.S. Aberdonia from Rouen. In May 1917 Phillips was back in France but the same month sent back to hospital in England with cellulitis in his leg. In November 1917 Private Phillips rejoined his battalion. On 17 April 1918 he suffered shell concussion in action and was returned again to hospital in England, the General Military Hospital in Edmonton, London. On 30 June 1918 Frederick Phillips was returned to Australia on the Kanowna as permanently unfit and was admitted to Wooroloo sanatorium where he died of tuberculosis on 9 November 1918 and was buried in the Wooroloo Cemetery.
Wooroloo sanatorium was opened in the Darling Ranges outside Perth in response to infectious diseases such as typhoid, diphtheria and tuberculosis that were widely prevalent after the mass migration that followed the discovery of gold in Western Australia. The official opening of the sanatorium was on 1 May 1915. Without antibiotics, the emphasis in sanatoria was on sunlight and fresh air. Prior to the opening of Wooroloo sanatorium, the Coolgardie sanatorium treated tuberculosis patients and those with silicosis.
In 1960 the Wooroloo sanatorium became a district hospital which closed in 1970. The buildings are now part of the Wooroloo Prison farm, a minimum-security prison for adult males operated by the West Australian Government Department of Justice.
Private Frederick Phillips had a brother, 252 Private William Charles Phillips who also served during the Great War with the 4th Machine Gun Company. William Phillips was a farmer and enlisted in Perth on 18 February 1916 in the 28th Battalion. William Phillips was wounded and taken prisoner by the Germans at Riencourt in France in April 1917. He returned to Australia on the Marathon on 19 April 1919 and discharged on 16 July 1919. In 1919 William C. Phillips married Norah B. Holroyd in the Perth district.12 I believe this to be the sister of Arthur Comport Holroyd whose family farmed in Koorda. Arthur Holroyd also served in the 4th Machine Gun Company and was killed in France on 5 February 1917.
I believe that F. Phillips on the Dowerin War Memorial is Frederick James Phillips, the brother of William Charles Phillips. Frederick Phillips was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-65-M119

Inscriptions and markings

When the Great War broke out in Europe in 1914, Dowerin was an isolated farming district, several days travel by horse or by coach from Perth. Over the succeeding four years at least 176 men and one nurse served in the armed forces of the Empire. The names of the men who served can be read on the Honour Roll in the Dowerin Town Hall or can be accessed on the museum section of the Shire of Dowerin website.

Fifty-one men from the district died in the Great War and their names are inscribed on the Dowerin War Memorial which was unveiled on ANZAC Day 1936. Subsequent conflicts have seen more names memorialised and each ANZAC Day their sacrifice is honoured and remembered by the community.

Contextual Information

For some years Diane Hatwell had been intrigued by the names on the Dowerin War Memorial. Some were familiar with the families still in the district but some not so. Diane felt It was important for the community that when we said each ANZAC Day “We will remember them”, we had some idea of who and what we are remembering. She set about, to find out who they were, what they were doing in the Dowerin district, and where and how they died. These pages presented through Collections WA represent the current state of this ongoing research and community response.

Geotag

-31.809474708933, 116.32681218163

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