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Frederick James Buttenshaw - Information

Frederick was the eldest son of George Henry and Selina Forman Buttenshaw. He was born in Camden in 1893, and grew up in the area before the family relocated to the North Coast. When the war began, Frederick was living in Billinudgel and working as a carter. He then decided to enlist in the AIF on the 29th of September 1916 in Lismore, aged 23. Frederick was posted to the 7th Reinforcements, 41st Battalion as a Private, and shipped out on the 7th of February 1917 onboard the HMAT Wiltshire.

Frederick disembarked at Devonport on the 11th of April, and was marched into AIF Details at Fovant. He was then transported to the 11th Training Battalion, where he was conditioned for the Western Front. By August, he joined the 41st Battalion in the lines. However, after living with the unsanitary conditions in the trenches, Frederick became very ill. He was rushed to the 44th Casualty Clearing Station with trench foot. He was then invalided to England and admitted to the 1st London General Hospital. It took a few months for him to recover from the infection, and in March 1918 he was back in France with his unit. At the time, the Germans were unleashing their Spring Offensive. An attempt to crush the Allies before the bulk of American troops arrived. They were initially successful, causing British units to retreat. The Australian Corps whom were resting out of the lines, were rushed into the plug the gaps. The 41st Battalion protected the rail junction at Amiens. Halting the advance, the Allies started to move forward. Frederick was wounded in action when he was caught in a gas attack on the 26th of May 1918. He was treated in hospital in France, rejoining his unit in late August. Sadly, he was with his Battalion only a week, when he was wounded in action a second time. On the 7th of September, an artillery blast sent shell fragments into Frederick’s back. He was rushed to a Casualty Clearing Station and shipped out to the UK a few days later. He was then admitted to the 3rd Western General Hospital in Cardiff, Wales, remaining in hospital until the war ended. He was consequently invalided home to Australia on the 20th of November 1918. After he was discharged, he returned to the north coast.