Raymond John Fradd 1909

Raymond John Fradd was born on the 9th of April 1909  in Broken Hill, New South Wales to Francis Frank and Stella A Fradd [nee Unknown]. It is suspected that he is a half-brother to Chester Douglas Fradd. Both boys were committed to the Mittagong Farm Home For Boys on the 23rd of March 1919.Raymond or "Jack" as he was known was 9 years old and Chester was 12.

N.S.W. State Records.

On the 5^th of June 1906 in accordance with the provisions of the Neglected Children and Juvenile Offenders Act 1905,  the Farm Home for Boys at Mittagong was proclaimed an Industrial School. Mittagong Farm Home For Boys was a 500-acre property opened on the 17^th of October 1906 as a government-run Probationary Training Home for boys aged 8 to 17 who were convicted in the Children's Courts of less serious offences including truanting, being uncontrollable, being neglected and wandering, breaching probation, stealing, and breaking and entering. 81 boys were admitted in the first six months.

The Home was situated on land already used as cottage style accommodation for state children who were sick or invalid. No-one who ended up at the Mittagong Farm Home, ended up there by choice. It was a place where children were sent to live because of different circumstances.

Over the years, the homes accommodated children from various walks of life, including orphans, state wards, mentally challenged and ill children. Some were taken away from their parents for their own wellbeing while others were sent to the homes because they were truants or were in trouble with the law. Some came from broken families where the father had left and the mother was trying to raise five or six children on her own.

 



Mittagong Boys Home Cottage c 1910

There was no dole or child endowment and no money from the fathers - so mothers would send some or all of their children to the homes, so that she could go out to make a living; knowing that her children would be guaranteed food, clothing and shelter- which was something many struggling mothers could not do for their children if they didn’t let them go. Displaced children were sent from orphanages in Sydney to live in private cottage homes in the Mittagong area from about 1881.The struggle for individual families to feed the additional children in their homes saw the State Government of the time lease a portion of land from about 1885 with the intention was to grow food on the property which already had several buildings on it and an orchard. More buildings were established and homeless men from the city were sent down to live there and work the land. They produced enough food to support children in homes both in Sydney and Mittagong.

The government decided to buy the site in 1907 with children accommodated in farm homes on the property and in cottage homes in the Mittagong community.The boys were in the charge of an attendant and matron (usually a married couple). Boys under 14 (and older boys with a low standard of education) attended nearby lower Mittagong Public School. The older boys, under the supervision of the attendant worked on the Farm lands adjacent to the Home cultivating fruit and vegetables, dairying and raising poultry. Most boys stayed at Mittagong for short periods. The average stay at the institution was four to five months. Boys who were responsive to the program at Mittagong were released on probation to a relative, boarded-out or apprenticed out,  and those who showed no evidence of reform were sent to the Farm Home for Boys at Gosford.  In July 1911, 34 boys were transferred to the Home from the Nautical School-Ship the "Sobraon" which ceased operations. The Mittagong Home was divided into cottages with 20 - 30 boys to each cottage. Turner Cottage was set aside for truants. In 1944 Anglewood Special School, Burradoo was established to assist with housing the increasing number of male truants.

After May 1946, Anglewood was able to accommodate all truant boys. Special educational programs were provided for intellectually disabled residents.From 1946 the Institution was sometimes called the Mittagong Training School for Boys; and from 1947 the latter name was used uniformly. On 23 August 1974 a new cottage for younger boys was opened, enabling a maximum population of 180 boys. The Mittagong Training School for Boys was gradually phased out as a Home for Delinquent Boys. On 30 June 1976 only 33 boys were in residence. In August 1976 the Institution ceased to operate as a Training Centre and the remaining boys were transferred to Ormond House, Thornleigh. Subsequently Mittagong Training School for Boys was established as a home for dependent children and became part of the newly named centre, Renwick.

Bibliography: http://www.records.nsw.gov.au/

Jack married Beryl Constance Lawrence on the 23^rd of January 1932 in West Maitland, New South Wales, Australia.  They had three children. He died on the 07^th of August 1971 in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia. 

Oliver George Fradd 1902

Oliver George Fradd was born on the 14^th of September 1902 in Kooringa, Burra, South Australia. ‘George’ as he was known, was one of 9* siblings to Francis and Mary Magdalene Fradd [nee Opitz] who lived in Burra, South Australia. He had 5 brothers and 3 sisters and was the third eldest child. *Chester Douglas Fradd may have been his half-brother.

 Either George or one of his three brothers was recorded in the following newspaper article:

 A child's mistake.

One day last week a young son of Mr F. Fradd by some means got hold of a bottle of liniment, and drank some of the contents. He subsequently became drowsy, but nothing serious was anticipated until at about 11:30 o’clock the same evening, when he had a fit. Dr. Sangster was sent for and prescribed for the young sufferer, who is now out of danger. Burra Record 17 1906

His family moved from Burra to Broken Hill, New South Wales sometime after 1907.

George resided in three different residences in Broken Hill, Kaolin Street, 496 Crystal Street and Argent Street.

George shift-worked as a miner, mainly in the North Mine for Broken Hill Proprietary Mine Corporation where newspaper records show he suffered a few minor injuries during the course of his employment; including scats to the elbow and an injured knee.

 In 1918, George was in trouble with the law when at age 19 he was charged with stealing £96 near Milparinka. He was brought before Judge Bevan in the Broken Hill Court and pleaded guilty to misappropriation and was sentenced to 3 months gaol, but was ordered to be released under sureties.

 In 1925 perhaps George had saved up enough money to buy a motor bike. On Christmas Eve he was booked for speeding down Lane Street in Broken Hill at a speed dangerous to the public.

Constable Schneider stated that "The defendant went along Lane Street at a speed of about 50 miles an hour. He had a man on the back of the bike and they both fell off at the corner of Lane and Zebina streets."
George stated that he had the cycle for only 3 days and that it had got out of his control.

The controls jammed and the only way he had to stop it was to fall off. He added "I would be a fool to speed up in Lane Street it is the roughest street in Broken Hill."

Constable Schneider said that the men had drink in them. "They caused a commotion as they went up the street some time before". The defendant had only a permit to drive, and is not a licensed driver. The magistrate fined George £5 with 5/6 costs in default, and 2 months’ imprisonment.

He stated that if the defendant had been a licensed driver he would have cancelled his licence.
Barrier Miner, Broken Hill, NSW 29 Dec 1925

George married Ivy Vivian May Selby on the 23^rd of March 1929.  They had two children, a boy and a girl.  In 1931, newspaper records show that George at age 27, overturned his car near Menindie after his car had a blowout. He was taken to Broken Hill hospital for treatment for injuries to the mouth and lacerated fingers.

The Great Depression (1929–32) was a time of extreme hardship for people in Australia. For many people this period began before the market crash in prices and lasted until the Second World War (1939-1945). Even before the devastating stock market crash on Wall Street (the centre of stock market trading in New York, United States of America), unemployment in Australia was already at ten per cent. The Wall Street crash in October 1929 signalled the beginning of a severe depression for the whole industrialised world.

After the crash, unemployment in Australia more than doubled to twenty per cent in mid-1930, and reached its peak in mid-1932 when almost thirty-two per cent of Australians were out of work.

The impact on Australian society was devastating. Without work and a steady income many people lost their homes and were forced to live in makeshift dwellings with poor heating and sanitation. Many men selfishly deserted their wives and children to try and survive including George and half- brother* Chester who both deserted their wives and headed to Western Australia following a gold rush.

 

A Great Depression survivor recalls the hardship:

“People were forced into all sorts of tricks and expediencies to survive, all sorts of shabby and humiliating compromises. In thousands and thousands of homes fathers deserted the family and went on the track (became itinerant workers), or perhaps took to drink. Grown sons sat in the kitchen day after day, playing cards, studying the horses [betting on horse racing] and trying to scrounge enough for a three penny bet, or engaged in petty crime, mothers cohabited with male boarders who were in work and who might support the family, daughters attempted some amateur prostitution and children were in trouble with the police.”

Bibliography: http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/great-depression

George’s first marriage was dissolved in 1967 as a result of abandonment.

George had met Ivy Pearl Williams and had 3 children before marrying in a registry office in 1968; 2 boys and a girl. George and Ivy lived in the Yilgarn district in Western Australia in a place called Westonia where George was employed as a pumpman.  Australian Electoral Records, 1943

 



George and Chester then share farmed various properties until about 1973 at Burracoppin in the wheat-belt area just outside of Merredin, Western Australia. Then George moved to the township of Merredin and worked at the local Merredin Holden dealership up until his death in 1975.

¹“George used smoke Capstan rollies (tins) and at no stage of his life did he not have a smoke in his mouth and probably one in the ashtray (that he forgot). Being a rather large drinker (3 king browns per night) he ended up brewing his own and loved you testing out his latest mixtures.  I think he only ever did that so he had an excuse to open another bottle. He loved yelling out to Ivy get us another bottle as we are getting pretty dry.”

¹“We never even knew that grandads name was "Oliver" because he was only ever known as George Fradd. Even my Father and Grandmother never knew that his name was "Oliver" until they sighted the death certificate. He signed his marriage certificate as "George Fradd", so he kept that very secret. It’s funny that Chester didn't spill the beans on him either”.

 



Oliver George Fradd

 



¹“The best way to sum up Grandad was that he was a jolly Aussie larrikin who would give you his last cent if you asked him. He did life hard with little money, but it never worried him as long as he had a beer, his smokes, family and mates around. He had more stories than a library and loved a laugh. My biggest regret is that he died when I was too young to appreciate what he used to tell me. He fussed over all the Grandkids and never forgot a birthday even when he had no money.

He was just always happy and very jovial.”

¹ Details kindly provided by Grandson Colin George Fradd

Oliver George Fradd died on the 21^st of July1975 in Perth, Western Australia. Ivy lived another 19 years at Mt. Lawley after George’s death and died on the 15^th of July 1994.

Both Oliver "George" and Ivy Pearl Fradd were cremated at Karrakatta Crematorium in Perth. 

Ancestor Chart For Liam Augustine Fradd

Grace Fradd 1899

Grace Fradd was born about 1899 in Torquay, Devonshire, England.  She was one of eight children born to Thomas and Mary Fradd [nee Unknown].

Grace was employed as a part-time Frame Tenter in a Cotton Mill in 1911 in Bankside Cottage, Darwen, Lancashire. Her elder brother Ernest worked as a Cotton Weaver while her sister Florence was employed as a Cotton Winder. 

Victorian attitudes towards children were vastly different from those of today. "Childhood", they said, "was a time of preparation for adulthood, for work and responsibility."

Children of the lower classes did not play but rather worked to help support the family. A father with children could actually be refused Parish relief, as it was felt that the children could help support the family. Many families could not afford having a mouth to feed that did not pay its way. There were precious few schools for the masses to attend and even less opportunity to consider the luxury of an education. For many, just keeping food on their table, a roof over their head and clothes on their backs was a daily struggle.

Children from lower class families were sent out to work in mines, brick yards, woollen mills, and factories of all kinds from the time they were very young. Children were a source of income and so were put to work as soon as possible to add even a few pence to the meagre family income.

Grace was listed as a part- time Student and Cotton Winder at just 12 years old in the 1911 census.

 

1911 Census

Child Labour has always played a part in textile manufacture. Under the domestic system children assisted their parents whether they were spinners or handloom weavers. This pattern was carried on in the early years of the factory system that was dominated by spinning.

But with the widespread introduction of the power loom in Blackburn 1830, after the power loom riots of 1826 the demand for the labour of both women workers and children grew.
Children were quite capable of performing many of the tasks required in weaving and had the added attraction of being cheap. The type of jobs the children had to perform was varied but mainly the least skilled.
The most common was ‘scavenging' or cleaning the machinery and floors. This could be hazardous since work did not cease whilst they performed these tasks and, therefore, they often found themselves completing these tasks, including cleaning under the machinery, whilst they were still working.
Many children were injured or even killed cleaning whilst the machines were in motion was finally banned under the 1878 Factory Act. Children also had to oil and wipe down the machines during the midday mealtime break and at the end of the day as well replenishing the fire buckets and making tea when required or fetching the dinners of the workers.
The main role for children in the Blackburn weaving mills was as ‘tenters'. Their job was to watch over the looms warning the weavers when anything appeared to be going wrong or needed attention. This allowed the weavers to look after more looms whilst at the same time the children were leaning the job.
Factory Acts were passed from 1819 to limit the age of those employed and their hours and conditions of work. In Blackburn, however, because of the half-time system 29% of all twelve year olds were still being employed on a part time basis in 1914 mostly in the cotton mills. After the age of thirteen was reached full-time working was allowed.

Kingsley Meredith Chatterton Fradd Abt. 1898

Kingsley Meredith Chatterton Fradd was born about 1897 in Islington, London, England to Martin Meredith and Ada Fradd [nee Chatterton].  Kingsley was the eldest of 5 children.

The outbreak of the Great War was greeted with scenes of unprecedented patriotism across the length and breadth of Britain.

Men rushed to enlist in their thousands, from all walks of life, anxious to be part of the big adventure. All Saints School in the village of Bloxham, near Banbury in Oxfordshire, was no different, and many men and boys from the school joined up.

Kingsley Meredith Chatterton Fradd



Old Bloxhamists held every rank in the British Army from Private to Brigadier General, and there was no theatre of war that they did not serve in. 

Some of them were decorated for gallantry, others fell foul of military law, but all did their bit.
Regardless of rank, age or background, the 76 Old Bloxhamists have one thing in common; none of them came home.

Kingsley was educated at Bloxham School (All Saints' School), between 1908 and 1914, where he was recorded in numerous pictures within the school archives acting in plays.  He was also a Sergeant in the school O.T.C, and received awards for this. 

On leaving the school he moved to Canada and was employed at the Bank of Nova Scotia in Cobourg, Ontario, Canada.

Kingsley sailed from Montreal  aboard the 'Sicilian' as an 18 year banker and arrived in England  in October 1915. He enlisted into the Royal Fusiliers and proceeded to France in early 1916. 

The Germans went on the offensive in 1916, launching a massive attack against the French in the east of France, centred on the strategically and psychologically important fortress town of Verdun.  The German plan to "bleed France white" almost worked, bar a supreme display of French resistance.

As the casualties ran into hundreds of thousands, the French implored the Allies to move their planned offensive forwards, to try and divert German resources away from the east.

The 56th (1st London) Division moved from Hallencourt to the Hebuterne sector, opposite Gommecourt where it would remain until the opening phase of the Battle of the Somme on 1st July 1916. On this day it was part of a diversionary attack, with the 46th (North Midland) Division on its left, to confuse the Germans as to the true location of the Somme advance.

In the days leading up to the attack it made all its preparations obvious to the enemy, and despite some expectations moved forward at Zero Hour toward Gommecourt village.
The 46th on the left had failed, and by the end of the day the London battalions had been forced back to their original lines. Casualties were 182 officers (including Kingsley Fradd) and 4,567 men killed, wounded and missing.

The battles to win ground from the German Second Army continued over four and a half months and the battle officially drew to a close on 19th November. The Allies won approximately 7 miles (12 kilometres) of ground in that time at a cost of thousands of casualties killed and wounded. The German defence was stubborn and the German Second Army also suffered heavy casualties of many thousands by the end of the battle.

Within the first hour of the attack the German defence inflicted unforeseen heavy casualties to the British attacking force, resulting in the British being unable to reach their objectives for the first day in most parts of the battlefront.

The middle day of the middle year of the First World War is remembered as the bloodiest day in the history of the British Army. As night fell on the evening of the 1st July, they had suffered 57,470 casualties, of whom 19,240 were killed or died of wounds

For many people, the first day has come to represent the futility and sacrifice of the war, with lines of infantry being mowed down by German machine guns.

While the first day marked the beginning of four and a half months of attrition, it always overshadowed the days that followed.

2nd Lt. Kingsley Meredith Chatterton Fradd

2nd London Regiment, Royal Fusiliers

Killed in action, aged 18, 1st July 1916

Buried in Hebuterne Cemetery, France

The divisional historian later concluded, “… unpleasant as it may seem, the role of the 56th Division was to induce the enemy to shoot at them with as many guns as could be gathered together.” In this, they had certainly succeeded.

Kingsley is recorded on the war memorial which stands in the entrance lobby to the banks' headquarters in Alberta, Canada. He lies buried in a beautiful cemetery in Hebuterne in France, his headstone standing at the base of a cherry tree.

‘Patriots who perished for their country's right,

Or nobly triumphed in the field of fight

There holy priests and sacred poets stood,

Who sung with all the raptures of a god

Worthies, who life by useful arts refined,

With those who leave a deathless name behind,

Friends of the world, and fathers of mankind.'

Leonard Harold Francis Fradd 1898

Leonard Harold Francis Fradd was born on the 21^st of February 1898 in Burra, (Hampton District) South Australia. He was schooled at Copperhouse and was the eldest of 9 children born to Francis and Mary Magdalene Fradd (nee Opitz).

The family moved to Broken Hill sometime after 1907where they resided in Chapple Street, Convent Hill. Leonard was to have a fairly turbulent childhood; as detailed in the following 3 articles.

Recaptured in Broken Hill (Barrier Miner, Tuesday 10 Sep 1912)

Leonard Fradd a troublesome 14 year old boy has been up to mischief more than once.

He was concerned in petty larceny at Broken Hill some months ago and was dealt with in the Children’s Court. He was ordered to be sent to Altona House a reformatory in Sydney. It was he and another boy who broke away from custody some time ago when under escort to Sydney. Fradd had the audacity to return to Broken Hill recently. He was identified in the street on Saturday by a constable and arrested. Under the Neglected Children and Juvenile Detention Act, boys under the age of 16 years are not to be imprisoned. Consequently Fradd was ordered to be held in the shelter at Silverton where he would be detained pertaining an escort to take him to Sydney to serve his term at Altona House Reformatory.

 

Broken Hill (The Register, Adelaide Monday 9 September 1912)
 

Leonard Fradd, aged 15, who escaped from custody in Melbourne early in July, while being conveyed from Broken Hill to Sydney, was rearrested in Broken Hill on Saturday.

Fradd and another lad (Pearson) were convicted here in the Children’s Court for complication in several robberies and were being taken to the Reformatory in Sydney, when they made good their escape. The Melbourne police arrested them a few days later, but they again got away and nothing more was heard of either until Fradd was re-arrested yesterday. He did not like the thought of recapture, and gave the policeman a smart run. Fradd will again be removed to Sydney.

 

Quarter Sessions, Grafton (The Sydney Morning Herald, Thursday 19 November 1914)

 

West Maitland. The Maitland Quarter Sessions were opened at the Courthouse, East Maitland on Tuesday before Judge  Fitzhardinge, Mr A.S. Dawson was Crown Prosecutor. The list of cases was light, and for the first time in the history of the court all the accused pleaded guilty, a proceeding the rendered unnecessary the presence of any jurymen. Frederick Percy (16) and Leonard Fradd (16) for stealing from a dwelling at Telegraph Point were each sentenced to six months imprisonment. His Honour desired one to be imprisoned in Maitland and the other in Goulburn Gaol. (Leonard)

Leonards Prison Record

 

Leonard was listed as a Prisoner Discharged Free in the New South Wales Police Gazette in 1915. One wonders whether the pardon was a way of bolstering the A.I.F. ranks because Leonard soon joined the "colours" on the 11th December 1915 where he received 6 shillings per day.

He was to marry Sylvia May Hall in 1916 and they resided in "Cudgegong", Crimea Street, Parramatta before Leonard enlisted in the Australian Imperial Forces.

The Nominal Roll listed Leonard in the 19th Infantry Battalion, 13th Reinforcements when he sailed aboard HMAT Ajana from Sydney on 05 July1915 to go and fight in The Great War.

Leonard was transferred to the 34th Battalion, spent time in the 9th Australian Machine Gun Company and finished with the 36th Battalion.

The 36th Battalion was raised at Broadmeadow Camp, in Newcastle, New South Wales in February 1916. The bulk of the battalion's recruits came from New South Wales rifle clubs and along with the 33rd, 34th and 35th Battalions, it formed the 9th Brigade, attached to the 3rd Division. Upon arrival in England, the battalion spent the next four months in training, before taking up a position on the Western Front on 4 December 1916, in time to sit out an uncomfortable winter in the trenches.

Many soldiers fighting in the First World War suffered from trench foot. Leonard was no different. He was in and out of hospitals in Belgium and France with this condition. The infection of the feet was caused by cold, wet and insanitary conditions where men stood for hours on end in waterlogged trenches without being able to remove wet socks or boots. The feet would gradually go numb and the skin would turn red or blue. If untreated, trench foot could turn gangrenous and result in amputation. Trench foot was a particular problem in the early stages of the war particularly during the winter of 1914-15.

“If you have never had trench feet described to you. I will tell you. Your feet swell to two or three times their normal size and go completely dead. You could stick a bayonet into them and not feel a thing. If you are fortunate enough not to lose your feet and the swelling begins to go down. It is then that the intolerable, indescribable agony begins. I have heard men cry and even scream with the pain and many had to have their feet and legs amputated.” Sergeant Harry Roberts, Lancashire Fusiliers, interviewed after the war.

Enlisted Casula Camp N.S.W.	11 Dec 1915
Embarked Sydney-HMAT A31 Ajana	05 Jul 1916
Disembarked Plymouth, UK	31 Aug 1916
Transferred from 34th Battalion to 19th Battalion (13th reinforcements)	20 Apr  1916
Transferred from 19th Battalion to 36th Battalion	29 Sep 1916
Overseas to France EX Southampton	22 Nov 1916
Admitted To Hospital Belgium-Dilated Heart Transferred to 3 ADRS	20 Jul 1917
Transferred to 10 Reinforcement Camp	21 Jul 1917
Re-joined Unit  ex Hospital France	30 Jul 1917
Re-joined unit from Hospital (Belgium)	02 Aug 1917
Detached to 9th Australian Machinegun Company from 36th Battalion A.I.F.	10 Aug 1917
Detached to 9th  AMGC (Field)	16 Aug 1917
To Hospital Sick from Attachment (Field)	08 Sep 1917
Admitted To Hospital Sick - Sth Ypres	26 Sep 1917
Admission Injury to toe nail to 45 Hos (France)	26 Sep 1917
Admission to 7 Con D	13 Oct 1917
Admission to B/D	02 Nov 1917
In From Hospital	16 Nov 1917
Marched Out To Unit	21 Nov 1917
Re-joined Battalion From S (Belgium)	22 Nov 1917
Re-joined Batt From Hospital Sick	22 Nov  1917
On Leave to UK	16 Jan 1918
Re-joined from Leave (Belgium)	03 Feb 1918
Detached to Tunnelling Company (Belgium)	08 Feb 1918
Re-joined from Tunnelling Company (Belgium)	24 Feb 1918
Admitted To Hospital Sick - France	27 Feb 1918
Re-joined Batt From Sick (France)	07 Mar 1918
Re-joined Batt From Sick- Gingivitis (France)	12 Mar 1918
Re-joined Battalion	16 Mar 1918
Wounded In Action - Gunshot Wound to RH (France)	04 Apr 1918
Invalided to UK- 2 Gen Hos	06 Apr 1918
Admitted to Southern General Hospital Portsmouth England	07 Apr 1918
Re-joined  34th Batt	02 Aug 1918
Proceeded Overseas FRANCE ex Longbridge Deverill via  Folkestone	29 Aug 1918
Marched In ex England (Rouelles, France)	01 Sep 1918
Pte: M(?)/i: A.J.B.D. from UK wounded (Prev: 36th Bn)	01 Sep 1918
Marched Out To Front (Rouelles, France)	03 Sep 1918
T.O.S. H. Reinf 34 Bn x 36 Bn (Field)	05 Sep 1918
Returned Home to Australia Per S.S. Borda	11 May 1919
Retd. ‘Borda’ (TPE)             Disc.  12/8/19	28 Jun 1

 

Leonards War Record

Over the course of the next six months the 36th Battalion was mainly involved in only minor defensive actions and it was not until 7 June 1917 the battalion fought in its first major battle, at Messines.  After this, the battalion participated in the attack on Passchendaele on 12 October 1917. During this battle, the battalion managed to secure its objective, however, as other units had not been able to do so, the battalion had to withdraw as its flanks were exposed to German counter-attacks and there was a lack of effective artillery support.

For the next five months the 36th Battalion alternated between periods of duty manning the line and training or labouring out of the line before it was called upon to blunt the German advance during their last ditched effort to win the war during the Spring Offensive of 1918.

During this time they were deployed around  Villers-Bretonneux  in order to defend the approaches to Amiens, taking part in a counter-attack at Hangard Wood in late March before beating off a concerted German attack on Villers-Bretonneux on 4 April, where the battalion suffered greatly when the Germans attacked with gas.

This was to be the 36th Battalion's last contribution to the war, as it was disbanded on 30 April 1918 in order to reinforce other 9th Brigade units. The earlier campaigns had severely depleted the A.I.F. in France and since 1916 the flow of reinforcements from Australia had slowly been decreasing as the war dragged on and casualties mounted.

The refusal of the Australian public to institute conscription had made this situation even worse, and in late 1918 it became clear that the A.I.F. could not maintain the number of units it had deployed in France and it was decided to disband three battalions—the 36th, 47th and 52nd—in order to reinforce others.

During its service, the battalion suffered 452 killed and 1,253 wounded. Leonard was wounded and listed on the casualty list with a gunshot wound to the right hand on 4th April 1918.

Below the shattered ground that separated the British and German infantry on the Western Front in the First World War, an unseen and largely unknown war was raging, fought by miners, ‘tunnellers’ as they were known. They knew that, at any moment, their lives could be extinguished without warning by hundreds of tonnes of collapsed earth and debris.

Leonard, who was a Miner before joining the AIF, was detached to a Tunnelling Company in Belgium for 3 weeks on the 08 February 1918.

These men were engaged in a desperate duel with their German opponents to destroy their opposing front lines by blowing mines, carefully placed in dark, treacherous tunnels under no man’s land. At the same time, the tunnellers worked to defend their own front lines from the German miners, intent on the same deadly task. It was a war within a war in its most literal sense.

The secret war culminated in the simultaneous blowing of nineteen huge mines, with a combined payload of almost 450,000 tonnes of high explosives, beneath the Messines Ridge.

Over 4,500 Australians served on the Western Front in three Australian tunnelling companies and their unique support unit, the Alphabet Company. Around 330 men did not return. The remains of most lie in carefully tended military cemeteries spread along the entire length of what was the British sector of the front, from the Belgian coast at Nieuport Bains in the north, to Bellicourt in the south.

Some lie on German soil where they died in captivity. Others are lost in the dark, silent embrace of the earth and whose resting place is known unto God.

Australian tunnelling companies took part in the battles of Fromelles, Arras, Messines, Passchendaele, Cambrai, the defence of Amiens, Lys, and the famous last 100 days.

Leonard returned to Australia in December 1918.

Sylvia died in 1925 and a year later Leonard married Mona Estelle Hedges of Waterloo in 1926. They had 5 children. Once again, Leonard was involved with the law; but this time he was an "innocent bystander".

Man Killed In Yard ~ Widows Son Arrested ~ Murder Charge

Sydney Sunday

(The Argus, Melbourne Vic, Mon 28 February 1938)

Albert Hedges, aged 50 years, a relief worker, of Birmingham Street, Merrylands, was shot through the head and killed instantly while in the yard of the home of Mrs Muriel Smith, a widow at Sheffield Street, Merrylands this afternoon.

Hedges had been accompanied to the house by Leonard Fradd, his son-in-law. After Hedges was shot Fradd ran from the yard and two shots were fired at him as he ran up the street. Albert Hedges had been on friendly terms for some years with Mrs. Smith, who has four sons.

When he arrived at the house about 1pm today, an argument arose between him and Eric Smith, aged 20 years, a son of Mrs. Smith.

Quarrel in Yard

After this argument Hedges left the house but returned shortly afterwards with Fradd, and a quarrel took place. Hedges was standing on the path in the yard when a shot was fired, and the bullet struck him on the side of his head and passed through his brain.

Fradd ran out of the gate into the street. Two more shots were fired in his direction, but he was not struck.The Parramatta police visited the scene and took possession of a 22 calibre single-shot rifle.

Eric Alexander Smith was charged tonite with having murdered Hedges and with having attempted to murder Leonard Harold Fradd.

Leonard had further run-ins with the law up until 1943 and was further charged with Stealing, Receiving Stolen Goods, Indecent Language, and Drunk and Disorderly.
Leonard somehow lived until he was 81 when he died in 1980, presumably, in Sydney New South Wales.