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

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. 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 comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

, 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 Bowning is a small town in the South West Slopes, west of Yass, New South Wales, Yass on the Hume Highway in Yass Valley Council, Yass Valley Shire. Bowning is an Australian Aboriginal languages, aboriginal word meaning 'big hill'. At the , Bow ...

. His parents were from Gundaroo. He claimed that he ran away from his home, and stowed away on a ship sailing from

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

to San Francisco. In the United States, he worked with

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

in Detroit, Michigan. 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 A chauffeur () is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or a limousine. Initially, such drivers were often personal employees of the vehicle owner, but this has changed to s ...

. He served in the Middle East with the 7th Light Horse Regiment. He was discharged from the AIF in 1919 in Egypt, having achieved the rank of

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

. 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 ( ') was a condominium (international law), condominium of the United Kingdom and Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt between 1899 and 1956, corresponding mostly to the territory of present-day South Sudan and Sudan. Legally, sovereig ...

. 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. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

. On the publication of the warrant creating the

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational Courage, gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, ...

(GC) by

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

, 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 ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

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

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. 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 is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...

. 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 mil ...

cemetery at the insistence of the

Returned and Services League of Australia The Returned and Services League of Australia, also known as RSL, RSL Australia and the RSLA, is an independent support organisation for people who have served or are serving in the Australian Defence Force. History The League was formed in ...

References

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