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Frederick George Meyer - Information

Frederick George Meyer was born in Campbelltown on the 19th of February 1894. His father, Frederick George Snr, was born in Germany, and became a naturalised citizen in 1890 marrying NSW native Trevina Smith the year before. Frederick Jr. found work as a clerk with the railway service, while residing at 18 Phillip St in Enmore. He also served in the Royal Australian Naval Brigade as a Chief Petty Officer. However, Frederick wanted to join the AIF in 1918, desperate to prove himself worthy of being an Australian. No doubt because of his German ancestry, Frederick would have copped a lot of criticism. This did not stop, even when he applied for the Navy and the AIF, as he needed testaments to his character and loyalty to Australia. The Navy gave their permission for Frederick to join up, and he enlisted in the AIF on the 21st of June 1918 in Sydney. Training at the M & D Depot in Liverpool, he was allocated to the 18th Reinforcements, 3rd Battalion as a Private. He left Sydney on the 4th of September 1918 onboard the HMAT Bakara.

While Frederick was at sea, the war ended. He arrived in London on the 14th of November. Although he was not to fight the Germans, he was put to work. Frederick was stationed with the 3rd Battalion until the 25th of January 1919. He was then transferred to the 4th Depot Unit of Supply and transported to France. In mid March, Frederick was taken on strength to the 18th Depot Unit of Supply. By August, Frederick was back in England, getting ready to return to Australia, leaving on the 5th of September 1919. While at sea, he was hospitalised with jaundice in late September. However, a positive Wasserman Test, meant that his trip was marred with continual injections to treat syphilis. He was discharged from military service in December and returned to his family.