Frederick Richard MCINTOSH

Frederick ‘Fred’ McIntosh was born on 23 July 1893 in Fitzroy, Victoria. His parents were Frederick Bury and Pamela Pascoe (née Poole) McIntosh. He attended Scotch from 1911 to 1912. He represented the school in 1912 in Firsts athletics, football and rowing. The 1912 team won the athletics competition. He was in Cadets.

Fred was a railway clerk when he enlisted on 16 July 1915 in Melbourne, Victoria. He served in the 59th Battalion with the rank of Lieutenant.

Fred died on 28 September 1917 at Polygon Wood. He was 24 years of age.

Service record

Fred was a fine athlete, who played football for Essendon in the VFL. He had a hernia operation that prevented him from enlisting earlier. When he did enlist in 1915 he was initially allotted to a depot battalion at Warrnambool and then to the 6th Reinforcements to the 59th Battalion. He became a 2nd Lieutenant on 6 March 1916. He embarked at Melbourne on 2 October 1916, and arrived at Plymouth, England, on 16 November 1916.

He was in England until February 1917, when he sailed for France. He finally reached the 59th Battalion on 21 February 1917. On 6 April he was admitted to hospital sick with furunculosis (masses of boils – called ‘furculosis’ in his service record). He rejoined the battalion 17 days later. On 17 June he went to an AIF School, and on returning was made a full Lieutenant on 15 July.

On 26 September 1917 at Polygon Wood Frederick received a gunshot wound to the left shoulder and chest. The official historian mentions him as one of four officers mortally wounded, apparently by German machine gun fire, as they approached the first objective on the right flank of that day’s attack. He was admitted to the 6th Australian Field Ambulance and 3rd Canadian Casualty Clearing Station, where he died on 28 September.

Frederick McIntosh is buried in the Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery (Plot XXV, Row D, Grave No. 17), Belgium.

Photographs and Documents:

Frederick McIntosh is on the far right in the second row of this photograph

Fred’s grave at Lijssenthoek Cemetery

Sources:

1. Australian War Memorial – Roll of Honour
2. Bean, CEW, Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918, vol. IV, University of Queensland Press and Australian War Memorial, St Lucia, 1982, p. 814
3. Lijssenthoek War Cemetery website - http://www.lijssenthoek.be/en/address/9025/-frederick-richard-mcintosh.html
4. Mishura Scotch Database
5. National Archives of Australia – B2455, MCINTOSH F R
6. Scotch Collegian 1917
7. The AIF Project - https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=199442