Sergeant Frank Roy Attiwill
- Rank
- Sergeant
- Service number
- 1210
- Unit
- 32 Battalion
- Cause of death
- Killed in Action
- Place of death
- France
- Date of death
- 30 July 1918
- Age
- 24
- Plaque number
- M733
- Dedicated by
- Family on 13 November 2021
- More information
Biography presented during plaque dedication:
Sergeant Frank Roy Attiwill of 32 Battalion was born to parents Frank and Lucy Attiwill at Naracoorte in South Australia in May 1894. He was one of three children, he had an older sister, Marie, and a younger brother, Eric.
He was only eight years old when his father, Frank senior, died in 1902. Widowed, Lucy and the children re-located to North Fremantle, as she had family in Western Australia.
Frank attended the James Street school in Perth and while few details are known, it is understood he involved himself in the popular recreational pursuits of the times.
He was employed as a draper’s assistant. Prior to enlistment in the Australian Imperial Force, in Perth in April 1915 he served for two years in the army 11th reserves. He was subsequently transferred to South Australia where 32 Battalion had been raised.
Before embarking on HMAT ‘Geelong’ and leaving Adelaide for Egypt on 18 November 1915, Frank completed basic training at Mitcham, South Australia and was allocated to 32 Battalion where he served in ‘D’ company.
Following further training in Egypt, 32 Battalion shipped to the western front in June 1916. As part of 8 Brigade, 32 Battalion fought its first major battle at Fromelles on 19 July 1916, having entered the trenches only three days earlier. It was a disaster, with the Battalion having a casualty count of 718, which included about 90 percent of its actual fighting strength. Frank was wounded on the second day and was evacuated to England for treatment and recuperation.
Upon recovery, Frank re-joined the Battalion in June 1917. A relatively quiet period followed as 8 Brigade was deployed to protect the division’s flank; but then played a major role in the battle at Polygon Wood in the Ypres sector of Belgium.
During his service, Frank was promoted through the ranks and was made Sergeant on 28 June 1918. The German spring offensive in the Somme was at its height and 32 Battalion was engaged.
Sergeant Frank Roy Attiwill, service number 1210, of 32 Battalion was killed in action on 30 July 1918, in France along the Bray-Corbie Road near Sailly-Laurette. He was 24 years old.
He is buried in the Beacon cemetery at Sailly-Laurette and is commemorated on the Australian War Memorial in Canberra and the WA State War Memorial.
His younger brother, Eric, also served in France and was repatriated in 1919. He died in 1936, aged only 41 years – he too suffered much from his wartime experiences.