"Fred" Frederick Charles Holden CROFT
Born 22 July 1917 in Subiaco, Western Australia [16]
Son of "Augie" Augustus Frederick Leopold CROFT and Alma Caroline HOLDEN [P328]
Resided with his parents in Moora and then in Coorow [P328]
Student at the Moora State School approximately 1923-1929 [P328]
He was listed by his father as a prospective student in applications to reopen the closed Coorow State School in early January 1930 [215]
Student at the Coorow State School in Coorow from its reopening on 10 February 1930 until leaving aged 14 on 24 July 1931 [215]
After leaving school worked in and around Coorow with his father before working as a farmhand in Coorow [P328]
Farmhand in Coorow for Clinton A. BROUN, "Bill" William H. JOHNS Snr and "Ted" Edward P. TYLER and others [P328]
For a period he also worked up north kangaroo shooting with the LATHAM brothers of Coorow [P328]
Member of the Coorow Football Club in 1935 and 1936 [5: 24-May-1935, 22-May-1936]
Member of the Coorow Cricket Club in 1936-37 [5: 16-Oct-1936]
Enlisted in the Australian Army in Coorow on 24 June 1941 [16]
Married Jean RIGOLL on 27 September 1941 at Saint George's Cathedral in Perth[P328]
Private W20299 in the Australian Army's 4th Australian Infantry Battalion during the Second World War [16]
Drove a water tanker and was stationed within WA where Army personnel were camped, including Dandaragan and Perenjori [P328]
Posted to Rottnest Island and then to the Atherton area of Queensland where he underwent jungle warfare training [P328]
He was on active service for 1412 days and served in New Guinea for most of his 643 days spent abroad [P328]
Discharged from the Australian Army on 23 January 1946 [16]
He and his wife left Mundijong for Coorow on 28 February 1946 [406: 8-Mar-1946]
Resided with his wife in Coorow and worked as a School Bus Driver for "Jim" James H. DONEY [P328] [5: 31-Dec-1947]
He was one of the guests of honour at the Welcome Home to Ex-Service Personnel held in Coorow on 2 March 1946 [5: 15-Mar-1946]
Also attended the Dinner and Smoke Social for ex-Serviceman held in Carnamah on 27 April 1946 [5: 10-May-1946]
Member of Coorow Football Club in 1946 [5: 7-Jun-1946, 16-Aug-1946]
Member of Coorow Tennis Club in 1946-47 and 1947-48 [5: 13-Dec-1946, 5-Mar-1948]
After a short time in Coorow he and his wife shifted to Mundijong where they ran a poultry farm with her parents [P328]
Returned to Coorow in about 1950 and worked as a farmhand for Richard B. BOTHE and Lloyd D. BOTHE [P328]
Worked for the North Midlands Farmers' Co-operative Company's store in Coorow until about 1954 [P328]
Worked for his brother Leo A. CROFT, who was a local builder and contractor, from about 1954 until 1959 [P328]
In 1959 began working for the Carnamah District Road Board as part of their Coorow Gang [P328]
Following the formation of the Coorow Shire Council he worked as part of their gang from 1962 until his retirement in 1982 [P328]
Foreman of the Coorow Shire Council from about 1964 to 1979, and for his last few years was the Town Gardener in Coorow [P328]
From 1950 until his death in 1999 resided at Lot 35 Station Street in the Coorow townsite [P328]
Resided in the original house at Lot 35 until late 1978 or early 1979 when it was demolished and replaced with a transportable [P328]
Hairdresser for a number of men in Coorow from the back verandah of his home in Coorow [P328]
On Sunday mornings there was sometimes up to 12 to 14 men on the back verandah to have their hair cut [P328]
Never asked payment for his hair-cutting services, however some gave him a few bottles of beer or dropped him some shillings [P328]
Member of the Coorow Sub-Branch of the Returned Soldiers League [P328]
Never applied for his war service medals and didn't march on Anzac Day as he preferred to leave that part of his life in the past [P328]
Life Member of the Coorow Football Club - served as Property Man and First Aid Attendant [P328]
League Delegate for the Coorow-Latham Football Club on the North Midlands Football League [P328]
Member of the Coorow Bowling Club - manned the Club's bar whenever Members or Associates played [P328]
Along with William R. GLOVER and Frank E. BRADLEY he looked after and mowed the greens of the Coorow Bowling Club [P328]
Resided in Coorow until his death in 1999 [2]
Father of Ross [P328]
Died 10 September 1999; cremated at the Fremantle Cemetery, Perth suburb of Palmyra [2]
| Reference: Carnamah Historical Society & Museum and North Midlands Project, 'Frederick Charles Holden Croft' in Biographical Dictionary of Coorow, Carnamah and Three Springs, retrieved 25 April 2024 from www.carnamah.com.au/bio/frederick-charles-holden-croft [reference list] |
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