Frank John Partridge

Frank John Partridge

Infobox Military Person
name=Frank John Partridge


caption= Private Frank John Partridge VC
born= 29 November 1924
died= 23 March 1964
placeofbirth= Grafton, New South Wales
placeofdeath= Macksville, New South Wales
nickname=
allegiance= flagicon|Australia Australia
branch= Australian Army
serviceyears= 1942 - 1946
rank= Private
unit=
battles= World War II
*Bougainville Campaign
awards= Victoria Cross
relations=
laterwork= Farmer
Quiz show champion

Frank John Partridge VC (29 November 1924 - 23 March 1964) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, a farmer and a television quiz champion.

Early life

Partridge was born at Grafton, New South Wales. He was educated at Tewinga Public School until he left at the age of 13 to work on the family's dairy and banana farm at Upper Newee Creek, near Macksville, New South Wales.

World War II

In December 1942, during World War II, Partridge was conscripted by the Australian Army. He served as a private in the 8th Battalion, a Militia unit formed in Victoria. In May 1944, the 8th Bn was posted to New Guinea.

In June 1945, the 8th Battalion was transferred to the Bougainville campaign, where it operated to contain Japanese forces on the Bonis Peninsula. It was here that Partridge performed a deed for which he received the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry that could be awarded to British Commonwealth forces.

On July 24, Partridge was a member of a patrol ordered to destroy an enemy post, known as Base 5, near Ratsua. His section came under heavy machine-gun fire and suffered severe casualties, including a Bren gunner who was killed. Partridge, although he too had been badly wounded, retrieved the Bren gun and handed it to another man to provide covering fire, while he rushed a bunker and silenced the machine-gun with a grenade. He killed the only living occupant and attacked another bunker, but weakness from loss of blood compelled him to halt. Later he re-joined the fight and remained in action while the platoon withdrew from an untenable situation.

Partridge was the last and youngest Australian to be awarded the VC in World War II. He and Corporal Reg Rattey were the only Militia personnel to win it and they received the only VCs awarded to Australians for actions on Bougainville.

Later life

Discharged from the army in October 1946, Partridge and returned to the family farm. Partridge lived with his father in a dirt-floored farmhouse and — in his spare time — devoted himself to self-education, reading "Encyclopaedia Britannica" by the light of a kerosene lamp. He had an extraordinarily retentive memory and in 1962-63 he appeared as a contestant on the television quiz show, "Pick-a-Box", compered by Bob Dyer, alongside contestants such as Barry Jones. His laconic manner appealed strongly to viewers. Partridge was one of only three contestants to win all forty boxes and his prizes were valued at more than £12,000 (in excess of A$250,000 in present day terms).

He married Barbara Dunlop, a 31-year-old nurse from Turramurra in Sydney, in February 1963. The wedding received extensive media coverage. She remained in Sydney while Partridge built a new house at the farm. He drove to Sydney every weekend to see her.

Later in 1963, Partridge sought Country Party pre-selection for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Cowper. His political views were widely regarded as extreme, and he was not selected. To supplement the income from his farm, Partridge also sold life insurance.

Partridge was killed in a car accident in 1964, and was buried with full military honours in Macksville Cemetery. His wife and three month old son survived him.

In 1989 a primary school at Nambucca Heads was named the Frank Partridge VC Public School.

External links

* [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A150665b.htm "Partridge, Frank John (1924 - 1964)" ] (Australian Dictionary of Biography)


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Frank Partridge — may refer to:*Frank C. Partridge (1861 1943), United States Senator from Vermont *Frank John Partridge (1924 1964), Australian soldier, recipient of the Victoria Cross and television quiz champion *Frank Partridge (bishop), bishop of Portsmouth,… …   Wikipedia

  • Partridge — steht für: Die Partridge Familie, US amerikanische Sitcom aus den 1970er Jahren Partridge (Kansas), eine Ortschaft in den Vereinigten Staaten Partridge ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Alex Partridge (* 1981), britischer Ruderer Andy… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Partridge (disambiguation) — Partridge can refer to:Birds*Partridge, an Old World bird in the pheasant familyPlants*Partridge Berry, Mitchella repens , a wildflower growing in the eastern United StatesPeople*Alan Partridge, fictional television and radio presenter *Andy… …   Wikipedia

  • Partridge — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Como Partridge se conocen: Bernard Partridge, caricaturista de la revista Punch Burgo Partridge Partridge Berry, Mitchella repens, una flor Alan Partridge, presentador de televisión y radio ficcional Andy Partridge… …   Wikipedia Español

  • John stephenson (acteur) — Pour les articles homonymes, voir John Stephenson et Stephenson. John Stephenson est un acteur américain né le 9 août 1923 à Kenosha, Wisconsin (États Unis). Biographie Filmographie 1955 : The Looters : Lieutenant Stevenson 1955  …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Frank Welker — Données clés Nom de naissance Franklin Wendell Welker Naissance 12 mars 1946 (1946 03 12) (65 ans) Denver, Colorado Nationalité …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Frank M. Coffin — Frank Morey Coffin (* 11. Juli 1919 in Lewiston, Maine; † 7. Dezember 2009 in Portland, Maine) war ein US amerikanischer Jurist und Politiker. Zwischen 1957 und 1961 vertrat er den Bundesstaat Maine im US Repräsentantenhaus. Werdegang Frank… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • John Brown Farm and Gravesite — U.S. National Register of Historic Places U.S. National Historic Landmark …   Wikipedia

  • John Astin — John Allen Astin (* 30. März 1930 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA) ist ein US amerikanischer Schauspieler und Regisseur im Film und Fernsehen. Seine bekannteste Rolle dürfte die Darstellung des Gomez Addams in der US Fernsehserie The Addams Family… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • John Roberts, Jr. (billiards player) — John Roberts Jr. (15 August 1847 ndash; 23 December 1919) was a dominant professional player of English billiards. He was also a notable manufacturer of billiards cues and tables, and promoter of the sport. Early years Roberts Jr. lived in the… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”