Allen Hancock shares the story of family member Frederick William Higgins.

Frederick William Higgins was born on 8 September 1895 in Yandoit Victoria. From the age of 15 Fred did his compulsory militia duty and after the outbreak of war he served at AIF Depot Camps.

Fred enlisted in the AIF on 14 October 1916 and was appointed as a reinforcement for the 4th Machine Gun Company already serving in France. He arrived in England in February 1917 and was immediately sent to the Machine Gun School at Grantham.

In October 1917, Fred was the victim of a mustard gas attack at Passchendale and was evacuated to a hospital near Rouen. He later re-joined his unit and in March 1918, Fred’s unit became part of the 3rd Machine Gun Battalion.

When the German’s began their offensive directed against the British Third and Fifth Armies on the Somme on 21 March, Fred’s unit moved to the vicinity of Amiens. For 42 days the battalion remained in the line with the 3rd Division between the River Ancre and the Somme.  In August the 3rd Division began pushing the German’s back through Villers-Brettoneux, Hamel, Mont St Quentin and the Mont St Quentin Canal. Fred took part in several of the final actions of the war.

When the war ended Fred transferred to the Australian Army Pay Corps assisting in the administration of soldiers waiting to return home. Fred returned himself as the Pay Sergeant on the Chemnitz on 6 Jul 1919 and he was discharged on 24 October 1919.

Passchendale, c1917