Frederick Hamilton March, (6 August 1891 – 30 October 1977) was an Australian soldier and adventurer. He served in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He received the

Empire Gallantry Medal The Medal of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for Gallantry, known as the Empire Gallantry Medal (EGM), was a British medal awarded for acts of gallantry. Unlike the then existing Sea Gallantry Medal (SGM) (1854), the Albert Meda ...

, then the highest civilian gallantry award in the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

, for his conduct during the assassination of the Governor-General of Sudan, Sir Lee Stack. He was involved with the Sudanese Ministry of Agriculture during his later working career.

Early life and First World War

March was born at Bowning, New South Wales. His parents were from Gundaroo. He claimed that he ran away from his home, and stowed away on a ship sailing from Sydney to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. In the United States, he worked with General Motors in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. Before the

, he returned to New South Wales. He was employed as a picture show man. He also ran hire cars at Moss Vale. When the First World War started, March enlisted as a private in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in September 1915, giving his occupation as chauffeur. He served in the

with the 7th Light Horse Regiment. He was discharged from the AIF in 1919 in Egypt, having achieved the rank of sergeant. After the war, he never returned to his home country.

Post-war career

March worked as a chauffeur to Sir Lee Stack, the Governor-General of the

Anglo-Egyptian Sudan Anglo-Egyptian Sudan ( ar, السودان الإنجليزي المصري ') was a condominium of the United Kingdom and Egypt in the Sudans region of northern Africa between 1899 and 1956, corresponding mostly to the territory of present-day ...

. On 19 November 1924, Stack was shot and assassinated. March was also wounded, but he evaded a second hail of bullets by skillful driving. He was awarded the

(EGM) from

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

. On the publication of the warrant creating the George Cross (GC) by King George VI, in January 1941, all holders of the EGM were instructed to return that medal, and it was replaced by the GC. The eleventh clause of the warrant contains the instruction for all EGMs to be returned. He received compensation money for his wounds, and he bought a garage in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

with that money. March worked on military road-building projects in Sinai and Palestine in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. He lost contact with his family after the death of his mother in 1948. He was involved with the Sudanese Ministry of Agriculture for the rest of his working life. He received the Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977. He died on 30 October 1977. He was buried in the Christian cemetery in

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...

. In 1978, he was reburied in the adjacent

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations m ...

cemetery at the insistence of the

Returned and Services League of Australia The Returned and Services League of Australia (RSL) is a support organisation for people who have served or are serving in the Australian Defence Force. Mission The RSL's mission is to ensure that programs are in place for the well-being, care ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:March, Frederick Hamilton 1891 births 1977 deaths People from New South Wales Australian military personnel of World War I Australian Army soldiers Recipients of the Empire Gallantry Medal Australian shooting survivors Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire Australian recipients of the George Cross