Frank Leslie Sexton

Frank Leslie Sexton

Personal Information
Date of Birth	c1893
Place of Birth	Guildford, Western Australia
Death	2 Apr 1917
Place of Death	13th Australian Field Ambulance, Noreuil, France
Age at Enlistment	22 years, 1 month
Description	5'6¾" (1.70m) tall ; 144lbs 65.317 kg ; fresh complexion ; grey eyes ; brown hair
Occupation	Shipping Clerk
Religion	Church of England
Address	Gosnells, Western Australia
Next of Kin	Wife , Mrs Helen Mary Sexton
Military Information
Reg Number	3754
Date of Enlistment	3 Nov 1915
Rank	Private
Unit/Formation	28th Battalion, 9th Reinforcement, transferred to 51st Battalion
Date of Embarkation	12 Feb 1916 ‒ 11 Mar 1916
Ship Embarked On	HMAT A28 Miltiades
Fate	WIA 2 Apr 1917 Noreuil, Fance DOW 2 Apr 1917 Noreuil, France
Monument	Gosnells War Memorial Gosnells Road Board Honour Roll
Medals	British War Medal Victory Medal

Pre War

Frank married Hellen Mary Caine in 1915 prior to sailing for Egypt.

Electoral Roll entry: 1916 Holyoak, clerk.

War Service

Frank entered Blackboy Hill camp on 3 Nov 1915, and on 5 Dec 1915 was made a Sergeant in the No 4 Depot Company. On 16 Dec 1915 he was allocated to the 9th reinforcement draft for the 298th Battalion, retaining his temporary rank. He travelled with the draft to Egypt, where on arrival he was placed in the 7th Training Battalion to prepare for the Western Front.

On 2 Apr 1916, with the expansion and reorganisation of the AIF, Frank was posted to the newly formed 51st Battalion, so he never served in the 28th Battalion proper. His records note his reversion to the ranks on 2 Apr 1916, having acted as a Sergeant with the reinforcement draft and the training battalion. On 5 Jun 1916, along with the rest of the 51st Battalion he sailed from Alexandria aboard HMT Ivernia for Marseilles in southern France, where they arrived on 12 Jun 1916.

On 8 Jan 1917 Frank was detached to the 13th Australian Infantry Brigade Headquarters until he was seen by the 12th Australian Field Ambulance on 16 Feb 1917, and diagnosed with mumps. He was sent to a rear rest station to recover and his detachment to HQs ceased. On recovery he rejoined the 51st Battalion on 7 Mar 1917 at Buire where they were training and rebuilding.

On 2 Apr 1917 the 51st Battalion, along with the 50th Battalion (Aust) on their right, and the 2nd Battalion Gordon Highlanders on their left carried out an attack on the village of Noreuil. The 51st Battalion had easier ground to traverse and got ahead of the flanking units early in the attack. Becoming exposed to flanking enfilade fire they took 30+ casualties from an enemy machine gun. Given that Frank was able to reach the Casualty Clearing Station that day, he was probably wounded early in the day, and perhaps was amongst those early casualties. The attack was successful, with both the villages of Longatte and Noreuil captured.

Frank was wounded with a bullet wound to the back of his skull, dying later that day from the wound.