F. P. Williams

History

Frederic Percy Williams born in Ballarat in 1879, Frederic Percy Williams was baptised and educated at St Paul’s on Bakery Hill. He entered the church and travelled Victoria as a clergyman, enlisting in Warrnambool in 1916. Williams served as a Church of England chaplain with the 58th Battalion during World War One. The role of the chaplain in conflict cannot be understated. Aside from offering spiritual relief to the faithful alive, wounded or dying, their roles included helping bury the dead, often under fire; mapping burial sites if they were able; providing material sustenance such as cocoa, tea, biscuits; cigarettes and on occasion, measures of rum; developing diversions such as libraries and games rooms to keep men occupied (and out of brothels), censoring letters, and giving historical or geographical lectures and sometimes tours.

At Fromelles, the 58th Battalion was held in reserve and thus spared the awful carnage suffered by the 59th and 60th. Nevertheless, half the battalion was thrust to the front at the peak of fighting, and was horrendously mauled. One third were lost. In his diary, Chaplain Williams wrote:

"Our brigade was immediately relieved. They had been without food for 24 hours. I found the rations of the night previous and we cut up some bread and cheese in hunks and the rum we mixed in the tea. They did relish it. One lad said to me, as he tasted his drink, 'My word Padre, you won't be able to preach temperance when you go back to Warrnambool again'. There was a sally at this and I had to join in the laugh against myself. They had most admirable spirit despite our losses. We left a big number of dead in no man's land. “The total casualties in killed and wounded and missing amount to 7800 in our one division alone. This bloody battle of Fromelles. It was seemingly a morning of desolation. Artillery duels were still going strongly as we commenced the task of bringing up the dead. In the afternoon, staff and I went down to the trenches.

Private Spencer Maxted was in a field ambulance unit of the 54th Battalion. Appointed a fellow chaplain, his skills at bandaging were apparently stronger than his preaching. Accounts of his death have him ‘blown to bits’ while attending the wounded, but it appears he was already dead when Fred Williams found him.

“I found Chaplain Maxted at the end of Brompton Avenue all hunched up but quite dead. I attempted to straighten his body but was seen by the Bosch in the gap that had been blown in the trench and they turned their machine gun on me so I had to get out. "The wastage on the battlefield is terrific - men, guns, shells, our stores are littered everywhere. The object of the attack was to force the enemy to concentrate on the ridge of Fromelles and thus relieve the pressure on the Somme and this result we believe was achieved. Night fell with a silence as rare as profound and we obtained some much needed rest. We relieved at 9pm, utterly worn out."

- Captain-Chaplain Frederic Percy Williams, Fromelles 1916.

Always active, Frederic Williams died on the bowling green in 1944 of a heart attack. He had conducted the funeral of a fellow veteran that morning.

Legacy

Chaplain-Captain Fred Williams won a Military Cross and was mentioned in despatches twice.

World War One service recognised on the Ballarat Avenue of Honour.

See also

World War One

External links

http://www.thecourier.com.au/story/4025213/fromelles-ballarats-bloody-entry-to-the-western-front/

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--Beth Kicinski 19:01, 24 August 2013 (EST); --Clare K.Gervasoni 17:00, 21 July 2016 (AEST)