Not Forgotten, 5631 Private Frank MAULL, 28 Battalion AIF, World War 1

« Prev Item Next Item »

Subcollections

Overview

Commemoration of the military service of 5631 Private Frank Maull, 28 Battalion AIF, died of disease while serving, 30 December 1916.

Historical information

Frank Maull was born in Prestwick in Manchester, England in 1885, the son of Harry and Moira Maull, attended school in Guildford in England and arrived in Australia aged 27. When Frank enlisted in Perth on 18 March 1916 he was a single man aged 28 living in the railway camp at Kununoppin east of Trayning and working as a repairer for West Australian Government Railways. At only 5 foot 3 ½ inches he may have been below the minimum height for enlistment at the beginning of the war.
Frank was placed in the 28th Battalion. The 28th Battalion embarked from Fremantle on 22 September 1916 on board HMAT A52 Surada and arrived in Plymouth on 21 November 1916. They then continued on to Rollestone Camp in Wiltshire and the 7th Training Battalion. Frank Maull was admitted to the Fargo Military Hospital at Rollestone on Salisbury Plain in England on 18 December 1916 with Broncho-pneumonia brought on by a chill and died there of that disease on 30 December 1916. His body was sent home to Guildford, England for a private burial, although it is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves. Frank was buried in the Guildford Old Cemetery, near where his father lived, on 4 January 1917. There are a number of war graves in the Guildford Old Cemetery.
Rollestone Camp was established in 1916, situated in an upland area of Wiltshire that was described by one solider stationed there as ‘a bit bleak’, especially for Australians used to a warmer clime, like Kununoppin. The water froze around Christmas time, and one night the troops’ corrugated iron cinema was blown away.10 Frank Maull is not listed on the Dowerin war memorial, although I believe he could be. He is listed on the Newcarnie (Nukarni) Roll of Honour held in Merredin.
Due to the nature of his service, Frank Maull would have been awarded the British War Medal.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-65-M124

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

51.23439996385, -0.57240451253934

Open in Google Maps

Nearest geotagged records:

Zero geotagged records found within 2km

View all geotagged records »

Links to additional resources

Service Summary

Service Records

Guildford Old Cemetery, UK

AWM Roll of Honour

Dowerin War Memorial

Extened Memorialisation

Guildford War Memorial, Surrey