Description
Australian Senior Cadets Commonwealth Military Competitions, Brigade Competitions 1911-1912, reverse engraved “1911·12 Cadet F.J. Cox. 38TH BATTN”
An exceptional Senior Cadets Medal for Brigade Competitions which is strongly attributed to an A.I.F. officer that was Killed in Action at the Australian Charge at Lone Pine, Gallipoli. Medal in exceptional condition and as issued (it has not seen wear, giving further evidence to a killed in action recipient) and unmounted, scarce.
Although it is difficult to confirm with utmost certainty which “F. J. Cox” was the senior cadet that earned this medal, evidence can narrow it down based on First World War attestation forms. As researched, there are three men with the last name “Cox” and the initials “F. J.”:
- Private 309 Frederick John Cox
- Private 309 lists no prior service with the Militia or senior cadets and can be discounted
- Private 6499 Frederick John Cox
- Private 6499 lists service with the 89th Infantry regiment, a Western Australian regiment, which is corroborated with the fact that he was a Western Australian resident that enlisted in Perth – this man can be discounted as the 38th Infantry Regiment listed on the Cadet medal is a New South Wales regiment.
- Lieutenant Frederic John Cox (no service number, commissioned as officer).
On his WWI attestation form, Frederic John Cox lists service with the “31st Infantry” (initially written as “Senior Cadet 32nd Batt” but is crossed out and corrected) – specifically, as revealed on his application for a commission in the Australian Imperial Force, he states 18 months of service with the Senior Cadets as well as 16 months with the Sydney Citizen Forces where he held a commission as a Lieutenant, a rank he qualified for on the 16th November 1913. Frederic was a resident of Sydney and the 31st ‘Leichhardt’ regiment is based in New South Wales – coincidently, our presented Cadet medal is engraved the 38th Regiment which is also a New South Wales regiment. It is likely that Frederic was a member of the 38th Regiment for the 1911 and 1912 Brigade competitions, before transferring to the 31st. With these substantiating details, as well as a lack of other strong candidates, this Senior Cadet medal is most likely to have belonged to Lieutenant Frederic John Cox.
Born on the 18th October 1887 in Cumberland, New South Wales, Frederic was the son of John and Mirriam Cox and lived in Leichhardt, Sydney where he was schooled in Leichhardt Public School and Fort Street Model Public School. He was a senior cadet, as mentioned previously, and his civil employment was as a lines-man in the City Council and later as an electric mechanic. With his experience with the cadets and the Citizen Militia forces, Frederic applied for a commission with the Australian Imperial Force, attesting on the 11th of February 1915. This commission was accepted and he was posted to the to the 1st Australian Infantry Battalion as a Lieutenant. His commission was promulgated in the Commonwealth Gazette no. 17 dated 6th March 1915 (pg. 360). Frederic embarked Sydney aboard H.M.T. ‘Argyllshire’ on the 10th of April 1915.
Frederic disembarked in Egypt and was T.O.S. to the 1st Infantry Battalion on 9th July 1915. The following month, the Allies went on the offensive on the Gallipoli peninsula launching the August Offensive – as part of this offensive, the Australian 1st Division launched a diversionary attack with the Battle of Lone Pine, arguably its most notable engagement of the campaign. On the 6th August 1915 at 5:30 pm the Australian 1st Infantry Brigade initiated their attack with a first wave of 1,800 men charging the enemy. On this day, Frederic was killed in action at Lone Pine, and is buried Lone Pine Cemetery, ANZAC, Special Memorial C. 23.
