Russell Gordon Frew

Russell Frew (Service No 4180) was born in 1897 in Woonona, N.S.W. Russell joined the Army Cadets four years prior to enlisting. He joined the 2nd Battalion of the Australian Infantry Forces as an Army Private on 23 September 1915. Russell was 18 years of age, and at the time of his enlistment he worked as a Colliery Wheeler. Russell's mother, Mrs E Frew, of Gordon Street Street, Woonona was listed as his next of kin.

Russell was shot in the head while in the trenches in France, on 23 July 1916. He was sent to England for surgery where doctors inserted a steel plate into the back of his head. From then on he suffered epileptic fits as a result of the brain damage, and according to his sister, wandered around England while he recuperated.

Unfortuantely Russell did not make a full recovery and was shipped home on 23 May 1917 on HMT Ayrshire. Russell died at sea, aged 20, on 6 July 1917, two days out of Fremantle, Western Australia, and was buried at sea.

A memorial plaque for Russell can be found at the Australia National Memorial, 26 Villers-Bretonneux, France.