3275 Private
F B Duke
59th Bn Australian Inf
2nd November 1917 Age 23
Name: DUKE Initials: F B
Rank: Private Regiment/Service: Australian Infantry, A.I.F. Unit Text: 59th Bn.
Age: 23 Date of Death: 02/11/1917 Service No: 3275
Grave/Memorial Reference: 54. 719. Cemetery: NORWICH CEMETERY, Norfolk
www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2803118
The Australian Army records for Francis Bernard Duke can be seen on-line in the Australian National Archives.
naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/imagine.asp?B=3525376&I=1&am...
He enlisted on the 2nd December 1915,at Brisbane, initially as part of the 15th Reinforcements for the 23rd Battalion, although this was almost immediately changed to the 8th Reinforcements 58th battalion and then the 6th Reinforcements 59th Battalion.
He gave his place of birth as Bairnsdale, Victoria and his age as 21 years, one month.
His trade was Fireman (Fire Brigade).
He gave his next of kin as first his mother, Sarah Jane, and then his father, Robert, both of East Bairnsdale. He had served five years in the cadets.
He is described as 5 foot 9 inches, 176lbs, with light brown hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion.
After nearly a year moving between various depot units, including 3 months in hospital being treated for syphilis, he was finally shipped from Melbourne, where his rank is given as Medic, on the 16.12.1916. He arrived at Plymouth on the 18.2.17, and was posted as a Private to the 15th Australian Training Battalion at Hurdcott.
The sole entry on his disciplinary record is a period of AWOL from 24.00 1.4.1917 to 24.00 3.4.1917, for which he was docked 4 days pay.
On the 10.4.1917 he was admitted to hospital with Mumps. He was discharged on the 28th April.
On the 14.5.1917 he departed England for France, eventually arriving with the 59th Battalion on the 30th May.
On the 29.9.1917 he was wounded in action.
On the 20.10.1917 he was transferred to England on the H.S “Newhaven” from the 18th General Hospital with Gun Shot Wound Right Thigh and Nephritis. He was admitted to the Norfolk War Hospital in a Dangerous condition. He died at 5.45 on what was initially stated as the 3rd November but this was subsequently amended to the 2nd.
His cause of death is given as acute nephritis and uraemia.
He was buried on the 6th November 1917. His cousin, a Mr W D Dodgson, of 68 Malvern Street, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, represented the family at the Military funeral.
His will, leaving everything to his mother, was witnessed by Lieutenant T. Bursey of the 59th, and Frank Swan, CSM of “C” Company.
59th Battalion AIF
The 59th spent the winter of 1916–17 rotating in and out of the front line. In March 1917 the battalion participated in the advance that followed the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line, but was spared having to assault it. It did, however, defend gains made during the second battle of Bullecourt. Later in the year, the AIF’s focus of operations switched to the Ypres sector in Belgium. The 59th’s major battle there was at Polygon Wood on 26 September.
www.diggerhistory.info/pages-conflicts-periods/ww1/1aif/5...
Battle of Passchendaele, also known as 3rd Ypres.
Wednesday 26th September 1917 - Day 52
Rainfall 0.5mm
Today marks the start of the Battle for Polygon Wood, lasting until 3rd October.
Zero Hour was 5.50 am.
59th Bn was supposed to take the first objective supported by 29th and 31st Bns. However the three battalions got mixed up on the advance. Two pillboxes at the southwest corner of Polygon Wood halted the advance 150 yards from the first objective at the Racecourse, (The Racecourse was actually a driving track which was part of the pre-war Belgian Artillery barracks). 31st Bn then came under fire from blockhouses on the right in 33rd Div area. The 31st extended it’s flank in an effort to get in touch with 33rd Div. More fire was sustained from Cameron House. The Australians went to ground at 7.30 am to wait for 33rd Div troops to catch up. Contact made the advance was resumed at 11 am, with 29th and 31st Bns reaching the second objective without difficulty.
forum.irishmilitaryonline.com/showthread.php?t=11535&...
Interesting links on Trench Nephritis as a diagnosis for cause of death in WW1.
1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=111290
Trench Nephritis
An obsolete term for glomerulonephritis occurring in soldiers subjected to cold and damp conditions in trenches.
Diseases such as trench fever (an infection caused by louse faeces), trench nephritis (an inflammation of the kidneys), and trench foot (the infection and swelling of feet exposed to long periods of dampness and cold, sometimes leading to amputation) became common medical problems, and caused significant losses of manpower.
Around the 90-year anniversary of the Battle of the Somme, it is important to remember the international effort that went into responding to the new diseases, which appeared during the First World War, such as trench nephritis. This condition arose among soldiers in spring 1915, characterized by breathlessness, swelling of the face or legs, headache, sore throat, and the presence of albumin and renal casts in urine. It was speedily investigated by the military-medical authorities. There was debate over whether it was new condition or streptococcal nephritis, and the experts agreed that it was a new condition. The major etiologies proposed were infection, exposure, and diet (including poisons). Research pointed to the origin of the disease as being infective rather than toxic, but no definite cause was discovered. A number of labels were given to the disease, including war nephritis. However, trench nephritis was the one used most widely. Trench nephritis was a serious problem for the Allies, leading to 35 000 casualties in the British and 2000 in the American forces. There were also hundreds of deaths. The condition was treated in line with pre-war regimens designed for acute nephritis. No significant preventative methods were implemented for trench nephritis, as there was no consensus regarding causation. The medical response to trench nephritis was largely ineffective, with medical commentators recognizing that there had been a lack of medical progress.
