Francis Henry Beamish (1880-1969)

Wyndham City Libraries

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Francis Henry Beamish

8

Anastasia Beamish,
Murrumbeena, Victoria.
Stepmother.

Neerim Junction,
Gippsland, Victoria.

Single

Campbells Creek / Castlemaine

8 Driver  Francis Henry Beamish, 10th Machine Gun Company
Francis Henry Beamish was the son of Francis Thomas Beamish and Elizabeth Young Kingston who married in Victoria in 1865.
(Cert 1865/1008)
They had the following children:

• Margaret Beamish - born 1865 at Wyndham (1865/25860)
• Richard Paul Beamish - born 1868 at Wyndham (1868/13210)
• Avesia Beamish - born 1871 at Wyndham (1871/6444)
• William Abraham Beamish - born 1874 at Wyndham (1874/20271)
• Catherine Jane Beamish - born 1877 at Wyndham (1877/19633)
• Francis Henry Beamish - born 1880 at Wyndham (1881/12645)

His mother, Elizabeth Beamish (nee Young or Kingston), died at Wyndham in 1883, aged 43 years (1883/3821)

His father, Francis Thomas Beamish, then married Anastasia Connell, in Victoria, in 1884.
(1884/84).
Anastasia subsequently became Francis Henry's next-of-kin.

Francis Thomas Beamish had sold The Pines, the Beamish House, in Synnot Street, Werribee, in 1926.
The Age, 13 March 1926, p.4.

Francis Thomas Beamish died in Carnegie in 1940.
Werribee Shire Banner, 21 March 1940, p.2. 

Pre War
The Electoral Rolls for 1903 till 1909 records Francis Henry Beamish as being a Farmer, residing at Neerim in Gippsland.

Prior to his enlisting in the A.I.F. in March 1916, Francis Beamish was working as a driver, and lived at Neerim Junction in Gippsland.

War Service
He enlisted at Neerim Junction, around 30 kilometres due north of Warrugul in South East Victoria in March 1916, aged almost 36.  His next of kin is listed as Mrs Anastasia Beamish, Murrumbeena, Victoria.

As a younger man, he had clearly spent some time in Western Australia because his service record notes that he had served for three years in the 10th Australian Light Horse Regiment – a WA based regiment that was formed as colonial militia in the 19th century.

Barely two months after enlistment, Francis Henry Beamish and his mates were put aboard His Majesty’s Australian Transport Ascanius on 27 May 1916 and sailed to England as a member of the 10th Machine Gun Company. 

The troops underwent further training in England before being transferred to France as part of the 3rd Division AIF in November 1916.

This Division was commanded by Major General John Monash, who went on to command the entire Australian Corps and is still regarded as one of the finest military commanders of the World War I.

In 1917, the Australian 3rd Division participated in a number of major battles in France and Belgium including Messines, Polygon Wood, Broodseinde and Passchendaele.

In February 1918, the 10th Machine Gun Company was absorbed into the 3rd Machine Gun Battalion.

Each company within the Battalion was equipped with 16 Vickers machine guns, giving the 3rd Machine Gun Battalion a total of 64. Each gun required a six to eight man crew – one to fire, one to load and the rest to help carry the gun, ammunition and spare parts.

The Vickers machine gun was capable of firing up to 450 rounds per minute and had an effective range of around 4 kilometres!

In 1918, the 3rd Machine Gun Battalion attached to the Australian 3rd Division, saw action in Ypres in Belgium, in the Somme during the German’s spring offensive, and later that year, as part of the allies’ 100 day offensive around Amiens, France.

Driver Francis Henry Beamish served continuously in France and Belgium (other than for short periods of leave) between November 1916 and May 1919. He returned to Australia where he was discharged from service in September 1919.

Post War
On 15 September 1925, Mr Frank Beamish (the youngest son of the late Mr and Mrs Beamish of Murrumbeena),  married Miss Barbara Lyons of Morwell, at St Mary’s Church of England, in Caulfield.
Morwell Advertiser, 9 October 1925, p.2.

Francis Henry Beamish died on 3 July 1969 in Castlemaine, Victoria aged 88.
ancestry.com – Australian Cemetery Index, 1808-2007

Medals and Entitlements:

• British War Medal
• Victory Medal

Notes
Name on the Werribee Shire Oak Board: NOT RECORDED

His name never appeared in the Werribee Shire Banner’s ROLL OF HONOR.

Lest we forget

Service record: NAA: B2455, BEAMISH F H
http://www.1914-1918.net/3ausdiv.htm - 3rd Division, AIF
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vickers_machine_gun - Vickers machine gun
Embarkation - https://www.awm.gov.au/people/rolls/
Unit War Diary - https://www.awm.gov.au/collection
Death – ancestry.com.au
Service Record – https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/
Marriage – ancestry.com.au
Pioneer Index 1837-1888 CD
Federation Index 1889-1901 CD
Edwardian Index 1902-1913 CD
Great War Index 1914-1920 CD
Marriage Index 1921-1942

British War Medal

Victory Medal