Gates, Frank Johnson (Private : d.1918)

Collection relating to service of 2410 Private Frank Johnson Gates, 1 Machine Gun Battalion, at sea, Egypt, Gallipoli, France, England, Belgium, 1915-1918. Collection includes Gates' letters to his family in Sydney, written between July 1915 and September 1918, describing his experiences in Egypt, Gallipoli, England and the Western Front.

This collection reveals Frank Johnson Gates as a pious and devout Baptist who greatly valued the community and fellowship his church offered him, and who strove to adhere to his Baptist principles in even the most difficult of conditions. He wrote dutifully to his mother almost every week during his period of active service and was punctilious in acknowledging all letters he received. Gates' letters reflect his sense of duty and love of home, but also reveal a young man of limited life experience, who rarely engaged in self-reflection. His letters consist chiefly of the details of his everyday activities, enquiries about the health of family and neighbours, and acknowledgments of letters and messages received.

Biographical note: 2410 Private Frank Johnson Gates, 1 Machine Gun Battalion, AIF, who on 19 September 1918 was killed in action in the Battle of the Hindenburg Outpost Line. Engineering apprentice, of Petersham, NSW; born Petersham, educated at Petersham and Summer Hill Public Schools and at Sydney Technical College; was a lieutenant in the 36th Battalion of the Senior Cadets, and later a member of the Citizen Forces; joined the AIF on 9 May 1915; age at time of death 21 years 7 months.