The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (387) Private Frederick Laurence Sheldon, 14th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Richard Cruise, the story for this day was on (387) Private Frederick Laurence Sheldon, 14th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

387 Private Frederick Laurence Sheldon, 14th Battalion, AIF
KIA 30 April 1915

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Frederick Laurence Sheldon.

Frederick Sheldon was born in 1895 to Elijah and Mary Ann Sheldon of Eaglehawk, Victoria. His father, who had served in the New Zealand Wars, worked as a miner and served for several years as a verger at St Peter’s Church of England in Bendigo. Already in his early 50s when Frederick was born, Elijah Sheldon died in 1910, when Frederick was 16 years old. Frederick was the youngest of a large family, with his oldest sister Caroline being more than 20 years his senior. Caroline eventually became her younger brother’s legal guardian. Frederick was educated at the local state school in Eaglehawk. He won a scholarship to the Bendigo School of Mines, where he studied for a year before accepting a position as a clerk in a company in Melbourne. In Melbourne he was a member of the Brunswick Naval Band, probably as a cornet player, and played cricket for St. Jude’s in Carlton.

Frederick Sheldon tried to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force immediately after the outbreak of war in 1914, but was turned away because, at 18 years of age, he was under the minimum enlistment standard of 19 at the time. Undeterred, he went home to Bendigo to try again, with the consent of his sister Caroline, and was accepted for service with the Australian Imperial Force in September 1914 at the age of 18 years and 11 months. Posted to the newly-formed 14th Battalion, he commenced training at Broadmeadows Camp. Fred Sheldon had played the cornet for some time, and was asked to join the band of the new battalion. When he heard that bandsmen traditionally served as stretcher-bearers at the front, he refused, saying “he preferred to be in the firing line”.

The 14th Battalion left Australia on 22 December 1914, arriving in Egypt at the end of January 1915. The men continued their training in the desert for several weeks. Sheldon enjoyed exploring Cairo, writing to his sister about visiting local markets and mosques. He made friends with convalescing Indian Ghurkas, writing “they are great card players … I had many a pleasant game with some of them, although we had a little trouble to understand each other at first.”

Later, Sheldon added to his letter to say, “just a line to let you know that I am alright, and in the best of spirits, as all of us are, because we are going to-morrow or the next day.” On 11 April 1915, the 14th Battalion struck camp at Heliopolis and boarded a train for the port of Alexandria. They left on board the troopship Seang Choon two days later, with few, if any, members of the battalion aware of their destination. The 14th Battalion would spend a little over a week on the island of Lemnos, undergoing intensive training in preparation for the landing on Gallipoli.

Back on board the Seang Choon, the 14th Battalion left Lemnos Harbour at 9.30 am on 25 April 1915. The vessel passed Cape Helles on its way to Anzac Cove, and the men on board could see the naval attack going on as they went by well out to sea. Reaching Anzac Cove at about 5 pm, the Seang Choon began to take on men wounded in the hours after the dawn landing. The men of the 14th Battalion like Private Frederick Sheldon helped wave after wave of them on board throughout the night.

At 11.15 am on 26 April the men of the 14th Battalion began to disembark into two torpedo boat destroyers which would take them close enough to shore to be able to ferry to land in tows. The men, having spent all night helping the wounded, could have had little doubt as to what was in store for them. The journey was fraught with danger as they were under shrapnel fire all the way. At least one man was killed and another wounded before they could make the beach.

The entire 14th Battalion, nearly 930 men, was landed by 1.30 pm on 26 April. They formed a general reserve force with the rest of the 4th Brigade, and bivouacked on the beach for the night. The following morning they were ordered to the heights in order to defend the shaky, hard-won perimeter. They were in the front line for 40 hours’ hard fighting before being withdrawn for a short rest.

On 30 April C Company of the 14th Battalion entered the front line near Steele’s post to support the British Royal Marine Light Infantry in case of attack. Despite an attack coming at around 4 pm, C Company was fortunate to suffer only light casualties, with one man killed and four wounded. The man killed was Private Frederick Lawrence Sheldon, apparently shot through the head.

Fred Sheldon was buried not far from where he fell, but the exact location of his grave was later lost. Today he is commemorated on a special memorial in Courtney’s and Steel’s Post Cemetery on Gallipoli, beneath the words “their glory shall not be blotted out.” He was 19 years old.

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among almost 62,000 Australians who died while serving in the First World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Private Frederick Laurence Sheldon, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section