Frederick Birks
Frederick Birks | |
|---|---|
| File:FederickBirks.jpg Second Lieutenant Fredericks Birks VC, MM c.1916 | |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom Commonwealth of Australia |
| Service/ | British Army Australian Imperial Force |
| Years of service | 1910 – 1913 1914 – 1917 |
| Rank | Second Lieutenant |
| Unit | 6th Battalion |
| Battles/wars | First World War |
| Awards | Victoria Cross Military Medal |
Frederick Birks VC, MM (31 August 1894 – 21 September 1917) was a Welsh-born Australian soldier of the First World War. He is recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth forces.
Early life
Birks was born in Buckley, Flintshire, North Wales on 16 August 1894 to Samuel Birks, a groom, and his wife Mary, née Williams. The second-youngest of six siblings, Birks was five years old when his father died in a coal-mining accident.[1] He attended the local Anglican school in Buckley, without being absent or late. Birks left school at fourteen, before entering the workforce as a labourer and steel rollerman in nearby Shotton.[1] In Wales during 1910, Birks enlisted in the Royal Artillery, serving with the unit for three years.[2] On 29 August, 1913 Birks migrated to Australia with three friends, disembarking in Melbourne.[1] Birks went on to work in Tasmania, South Australia and Victoria as a labourer and later, a waiter.[3] Birks lived in Largs Bay in late March 1914, starting a relationship with sixteen year-old Suzy Gelvin.[1]
First World War
Birks enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force on 18 August 1914, and was assigned to the 2nd Field Ambulance of the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps.[4] The 2nd Field Ambulance boarded the HMAT A18 Wiltshire in Melbourne on 19 October 1914, and set sail for Egypt.[5] After spending some time in Alexandria, Birks' unit was sent into action during the Gallipoli Campaign on 25 April 1915, providing medical support for the 2nd Infantry Brigade.[4] On 26 June 1915, Birks was wounded by a piece of shrapnel but returned to service the next day, remaining on Gallipoli until 9 September.[3][5] Birks returned to Alexandria until 23 March 1916, when his unit was sent to Marseilles, France. He was promoted to lance corporal on 21 April 1916, and served as a stretcher bearer during the Battle of the Somme.[3][5] He was awarded the Military Medal at Pozières for "constant good services".[3] On 10 August 1916, Birks was promoted to corporal and was selected for officer training. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 6th Battalion on 4 May 1917, before serving as an infantryman at Passchendaele.[3][4]
Victoria Cross
On 20 September, Birks' platoon was advancing in Glencourse Wood, Ypres, Belgium. Birks, accompanied by Corporal W. Johnston, rushed forward to attack a pillbox.[3] They were attacked with bombs, and the corporal was seriously wounded in the confrontation.[2] Birks continued alone to reach the rear of the pillbox, forcing the garrison to surrender.[2][3] Not long afterwards, Birks attacked another strongpoint as a part of a small party, capturing up to sixteen men and wounding nine others. Following the battle, Birks assisted in the reorganisation and consolidation of the allied units.[3] The next day, 21 September, enemy shelling in response to the movement of Allied artillery had buried some men in Birks' platoon. Birks attempted to dig out these men, "standing exposed", but was killed by another shell before he could save them.[2]
Legacy
For his actions at Ypres, Birks was subsequently awarded the Victoria Cross,[2] the announcement of which was gazetted on 8 November 1917. His citation read:
War Office, 8th November, 1917
His Majesty The KING has been graciously pleased to approve of the award of the Victoria Cross to the undermentioned Offices, Non-commissioned Officers and Man: —
2nd Lt. Frederick Birks, Late Aust. Imp. Force.
For most conspicuous bravery in attack when accompanied by only a corporal, he rushed a strong point which was holding up the advance. The corporal was wounded by a bomb, but 2nd Lt. Birks went on by himself killed the remainder of the enemy occupying the position, and captured a machine gun.
Shortly afterwards he organised a small party and attacked another strong point which was occupied by about twenty-five of the enemy, of whom many were killed and an officer and fifteen men captured.
During the consolidation this officer did magnificent work in reorganising parties of other units which had been disorganised during the operations.
By his wonderful coolness and personal bravery 2nd Lt. Birks kept his men in splendid spirits throughout. He was killed at his post by a shell whilst endeavouring to extricate some of his men who had been buried by a shell.[6]
Birks was buried in the Zillebeke War Cemetery in Belgium.[3] His Victoria Cross is on display at the Australian War Memorial.[7]
Notes
- ^ a b c d "BBC Memoryshare - WWI hero, Fred Birks VC MM". Retrieved 17 May 2009.
- ^ a b c d e Wigmore, Lionel; Harding, Bruce Alfred; Williams, Jeff; Staunton, Anthony (1986), They Dared Mightily, Australian War Memorial, pp. 101–102, ISBN 0642994714
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Ward, L. (1979), Birks, Frederick (1894 – 1917), Australian Dictionary of Biography, retrieved 31 January 2009
- ^ a b c TheVictoriaCross.net - Frederick Birks (VC), TheVictoriaCross.net, retrieved 22 February 2009
- ^ a b c Details, The AIF Project, 2009, retrieved 22 February 2009
- ^ "No. 30372". The London Gazette (invalid
|supp=(help)). 8 November 1917. - ^ Hall of Valour: Victoria Crosses at the Memorial, Australian War Memorial, retrieved 22 February 2009