Lieut Francis Stephen Arthur Forss, Medaille Militaire (Fr)
21st Battalion, AIF
by Robert Simpson
Francis Stephen Arthur Forss was born on 7th October 1894 in Cookham Berkshire, a son to Francis Joseph Charles Forss and Mary Anne Swabey. Francis was one of four children to them, and the eldest. They had another two sons, then a daughter. They had been married in 1892 and lived in Maidenhead Berkshire, where Francis was a Solicitor. Mary had been born in Canada but had moved back to England with the rest of the family after the death of her father. They were still living there in the 1901 census. In the 1911 census he was a pupil in a school lodge in Reading. His Grandfather, Francis Stephen Forss, was a schoolmaster and then entered the ministry and was a curate at Limpley-Stoke and then the Vicar at Winsey and Limpley-Stoke in Wiltshire England. On 24th April Francis left England on the Otranto bound for Melbourne Australia. Why he left is unsure but as his intended future residence was still noted as England, as recorded on the passenger list, he did intend to return. Whatever he was doing, it all changed in August 1914.
Francis enlisted at Warracknabeal in Victoria on 28th January 1915 as Private 621 with C Company of the 21st Battalion. It may be that he went to Australia as he was going to work for his uncle, as his “uncle and guardian” (Charles Belcher) at Yellangip gave his permission for Francis to join on the same day. (Charles was not his direct uncle, the Belcher’s were on his grandmother’s side. One of his sons also served, Charles Sidney Belcher, Private 5335 5th Battalion. He died of wounds on 26th September 1917 with the 60th Battalion and is buried at Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery in Belgium.). Francis listed his trade was farming and he listed his mother as next of kin. Her address was given as Church Gate House, Maidenhead England. A discharge was enclosed noting his previous military service. In his records it is a Records of Service and Qualifications of a Cadet on leaving the Reading School Contingent. The form is headed Officers Training Corps Junior Division. In it was listed his date of birth and address as above. It states he left on 8th August 1913 after 4 years and 1 term service. His rank was Corporal and he had been 4 times “efficient” in the years 1910 to 1913.It also noted his General Efficiency was very good and in Musketry he was a 1st Class Shot. His date of leaving was 29th September 1913. In his WW1 records his description was given as age 20 years and 3 months, height 5 foot 8 inches, weight 138 pounds, chest measurement 33.75 to 36.75 inches, fair complexion, blue eyes and light brown hair. He had an appendectomy scar and good teeth. Church of England was listed as his religious denomination. On 10th April 1915 he was promoted to Sergeant. He embarked on HMAT Ulysses A38 from Melbourne on 10th May 1915 as Sergeant 621 in the 21st Battalion.
The Warracknabeal Herald of Victoria had on Tuesday 10th August 1915 in page 4 a letter from him : “LETTERS FROM SOLDIERS. Sergeant Francis S. A. Forss, writes from Heliopolis, Cairo, to the shire president (Cr. Dally) under date July 1st. He says :-“I am writing this note to ask you if you would kindly thank the Warracknabeal Red Cross Society very much for the socks and mittens they sent me just before we left. I had no time to write before we left Broadmeadows, as the last few days we were very busy. Altogether I had several pairs of socks given me, and I can safely say they are the most useful things one can take. We had a very pleasant voyage and landed at Alexandria on the 10th June. It is fairly warm here. We have had it 128 in the tents, but one advantage the country has, is that it is cool at night. In fact dangerously cool, which is the cause of most of the sickness owing to the lads being careless in going to bed with insufficient clothing on. Arthur North has been promoted to Lance-Corporal. He is in the signal section, 21st Battalion.”
He proceeded to Gallipoli on 29th August 1915. On 15th September 1915 he was Mentioned in Special Order of the Day as being a member of the volunteer party that worked the Southland into port. The Southland was transporting troops from Alexandria to Gallipoli when she was torpedoed forward of the well deck in the Aegean Sea on 2nd September. As it was just before the morning inspection, the men were on the parade decks, so the companies were able to get into the lifeboats quickly and quietly. As the last one left the Captain thought he could beach the boat and called for volunteer stokers. Eighteen soldiers, including Francis, returned to the boat and stoked the 24 fires for ages to produce the required pressure. Then the engines started to slowly drive the ship ahead and the pumps started. The soldiers completed their watch, were given iced drinks and were relieved by naval stokers from escorting vessels. They had had nothing to eat for 12 hours and after nominating a cook, had a meal of chicken and green peas. Unfortunately some of the lifeboats had capsized and some of the soldiers drowned or died after being picked up, including Colonel Richard Linton, who was commanding the 6th Australian Infantry Brigade. He died of exposure and shock after being in the cold water for a while. After being picked up by a French destroyer, where they tried to resuscitate him, he was pronounced dead and was buried at Mudros. Colonel Linton had been with the Victorian Scottish Regiment before the war. The vessel then grounded so quietly they were unaware that it had. They continued to Gallipoli afterwards and landed at Anzac Cove on 7th September. The Battalion had a relatively quiet time there as the major Allied offensives had finished. Francis was admitted to hospital on 19th November 1915 as being sick and was admitted to No. 1 General Hospital with diphtheria on the 26th. He was discharged to duty on 11th January 1916, but he came down with mumps on the 20th and was admitted to 4th Auxiliary Hospital with that and heatstroke.
A letter to his mother in England on 22nd May 1916 from Base Records refers to the President of the French Republic bestowing the decoration “Medaille Militaire” in recognition of his distinguished services during the campaign which was promulgated in the London Gazette third supplement 29486 on 22nd February 1916. It was awarded on 30th March 1916.
Francis proceeded to join the BEF from the Scotian which left Alexandria on 9th May 1916 and arrived at Marseilles on the 18th. On 16th October 1916 he was marched into No. 3 Commonwealth Depot from No. 2. The 9th Reinforcements joined the Battalion in France on 4th August, and Francis was wounded in action with them on 24th August. He embarked for England at Boulogne on the 28th with multiple gunshot wounds and was admitted to the Trent Bridge Hospital at Nottingham with a gunshot wound to the left hand on the same day (another record has gunshot wound arm (severe)). On 26th September he was discharged from the hospital and marched into No. 2 Commonwealth Depot at Weymouth.
A letter on 29th November 1916 from the Administrative Headquarters AIF in London to the Commanding Officer of No. 4 Command Depot Worgret Camp in Wareham Dorset advised that the Medaille Militaire for Sergeant Forss has been received by the office and if he was in London he could receive it by calling to Room 45. A reply on 5th December 1916 from the Adjutant of the Depot requested that the medal be sent to them to be presented by the Commandant.
On 24th January 1917 Francis wrote a letter to the Staff Captain of the 17th Brigade as follows – “Following the instructions given me by Capt. Ball late O.C. C Coy 65th Batt., I am writing to ask you whether you would kindly enquire about my medal, i.e. “Medaille Militaire” which was sent to “Bhurtpore” Barracks on the 29.1.17. I have made several applications for it but have not yet received it. I am anxious to have it before I proceed overseas which may be very shortly”. At that time he was the CSM of C Company 63rd Drafting Battalion at Hurdcott. On the same day a letter from a Major at A.I.F. Depots in England to the Administration Headquarters of the AIF in England stated that they had not received the medal to hand yet. Records sent a reply saying they sent them on the 23rd. It took them until October 1917 to send his medal from Records to the barracks and took them a few weeks to acknowledge receipt. He was transferred from the 21st Battalion to the 65th and taken on strength on 23rd March 1917. A line in his service record states he was promoted to CSM W.O. II on 1st April 1917 (another states T/CSM so it appears he was promoted temporarily and then permanently on the same day). On 19th September he was transferred back to the 21st Battalion on marching out to the 63rd Draft Battalion. He was taken on strength of the 21st on 22nd November 1917 after proceeding overseas to France via Southampton ex Overseas Training Brigade Sandhill Camp Longbridge Deverill on the 15th.
He was wounded on a second occasion on 22nd March 1918. On 25th March 1918 he was admitted to Horton War Hospital at Epsom with a shrapnel wound to the left knee (slight). He was transferred to the 3rd Auxiliary Hospital on 26th April. From 31st May to 14th June 1918 he was discharged from hospital, given furlough and reported to No. 4 Commonwealth Depot. A letter was sent to his mother on 28th March advising her of his wounding and of him being admitted to the hospital. He missed the big German offensive in April which the Battalion helped to stop. The Battalion was then involved in the battles of Hamel, Amiens and Mont St. Quentin. On 5th October he was wounded in action for a third time (gunshot wound to the right arm) and admitted to the 2nd Australian General Hospital on the 16th and invalided to England on the 21st. Another record stated it was a gunshot wound to the right arm which fractured the ulna and humerus and was severe. A letter was sent to his mother on 17th October advising her of his wound to the arm, but it addressed her as his wife (even though another form had her clearly listed as his mother) and called it a shrapnel wound. On 25th he was transferred to the 3rd Auxiliary Hospital.
On 25th November 1918 Francis requested he be discharged from the army in England as his parents were in England, he had the means to support himself and had no ties to Australia. A letter from his father was also supplied stating he had private income in England and there was no reason why he could not be discharged there. He was listed as medical category C2 and he had served for 3 years and 337 days. A letter written on 2nd December 1918 from the Administrative Headquarters AIF enquired to whom, their address and what amount of his allotment was payable to. The reply stated his mother at the same address and 5/6 per day. On 28th January a letter was sent advising him that his discharge in England had been approved and he was to report to Room 35 AIF Headquarters in London on 10.30 am on the 3rd February in order that the discharge may be effected. He had to hand in all equipment and bring his Medical Board papers. A letter from an officer of the No. 3 Australian Auxiliary Hospital on 3rd February 1919 to the discharge officer stated that the medical forms had been previously sent on 4th January. A Discharge in U.K. form supported his discharge until the recommendation of 5 D. which was, it was not recommended as he only had migrated to Australia before the war and was a farmer and he should return in the interests of Australia and to preserve the pre-war principles of immigration. It was signed on the 21st January.
Francis was discharged on 3rd February 1919 in England. He also had his application for War Service Leave Gratuity passed and paid. His description at the time of discharge was he was aged 24 year and 1 month, height of 5 foot 9 inches, girth 32 to 36 inches, fair complexion, blue eyes and for trade it listed none. But his proceedings for discharge form listed his trade as farming and his hair as light brown. His teeth were good and he had an appendectomy scar. There were also some minor differences in his measurements. His intended place of residence was Church Gate House, Maidenhead Berkshire England. 621 CSM Francis Stephen Arthur Forss 21st Battalion AIF was discharged in consequence of being medically unfit with effect from 3rd February 1919. He received his active and deferred service pay and a travelling warrant on that date also. The silver war badge and certificate A14306 were also sent to him at his parent’s home on that day. Administration letters were also sent to various departments acknowledging his discharge. His certificate of discharge also noted he was entitled to 4 blue chevrons for overseas service and 4 wound distinctions.
After the war he eventually went back to work on the farm in Australia. He was sent the Diploma in connection with the Medaille Militaire on 11th October 1921, which he acknowledged the receipt of on the 20th. His father passed away in 1924 in England and his mother must have then moved to Australia to be with the rest of the family. His brothers had also migrated at some stage. One brother, Charles Edmund, served with the YMCA during the war and entered Holland on 6th April 1918. He was entitled to the British War Medal. After the war he went to Canada in 1925 and was in Australia by 1931, where he worked as a bookkeeper. His other brother, Robert Henry, migrated after the war and was also a farmer. He served in WW2 as V91426 and was a Private in the 3rd Garrison Battalion. His sister, Dorothy May Caroline, also came to Australia after the war and married Hugh Campbell Thompson in 1931. Hugh served as Private 55234 late in the war. The 1924, 1931 and 1937 electoral rolls have Francis at Yellangip, Wimmera Victoria as a farmer. His mother passed away in 1931 at Warracknabeal.
Francis enlisted again in WW2 but only his nominal rolls are available to view. The first one states he enlisted in Hamilton on 6th February 1941 with the service number V25504, but no other details on his military service are given. The second nominal roll states him enlisting on 20th December 1941 at Royal Park with the service number V144964. His third nominal roll states he enlisted on 8th May 1941 at Royal Park, Victoria as VX 55347 and was a Lieutenant when he was discharged on 29th May 1945, but his posting at discharge was listed as Voyage Only? His next of kin were listed as R, C and Charles Forss (his brothers). There is an Application for Commission form for him dated 1939 in the Archives in Melbourne, but it is not available to view. Looking in the WW2 officers’ rolls, he is listed as V144964 Captain F S A FORSS who joined on 1st September 1942 with the 51st Australian Garrison Company at Myrtleford. He was a prisoner of war control officer from 24th October 1944 to 29th May 1945. One of his fellow officers was V81550 Captain Albert Borella VC MM.
The Argus of Melbourne on Saturday 24th October 1942 in page 10 had the announcement under “ENGAGEMENTS” of “FERGUSON-FORSS. – Hazel Jean, youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Ferguson, of Caulfield, to Captain Francis S. A. Forss, of Maidenhythe, Angip, eldest son of the late Mr and Mrs. F J. C. Forss, of Maidenhead, England.”
On 24th October 1942 he married Hazel Jean Ferguson, the youngest daughter of Hugh and Mrs Ferguson. No other details can be found about her family. Hazel was born in 1911 and it is not known where. Afterwards they were still living at Yellangip where he was farming according to the 1942, 1949 and 1954 electoral rolls.
By 1963, they had had a change of scenery and were living at 26 Reserve Road Sandringham Victoria and are listed as proprietors. Possibly they ran the house as a bed and breakfast as it is near the beach? On 15th May 1967 he applied for his Gallipoli medallion and lapel badge with his address the same although he named the suburb as Beaumaris. They were also there in 1968. Then they moved to Queensland and were living at 2525 Gold Coast Highway, Mermaid Beach. Not long after moving, he passed away in 1972. Hazel lived until 1989 and passed away on 12th April of that year, still at the Gold Coast. It is not known if they had any children.
Francis was entitled to the 1914-15 Star, British War and Victory medals and the Medaille Militaire for WW1 and the 1939-45 War Medal and Australian Service Medal for WW2. He was also issued with a Silver War Badge on discharge from WW1, his Gallipoli medallion and a Diploma for his Medaille Militaire.
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Francis Forss was in charge of the Italian P.O.W Control Centre at Mildura in late 1944/45.