Born in Sydney on the 27th of June 1913, John Frederick (known as Fred) was the youngest of the two children of Albert and Annie (nee Burley) Ellis.
In 1938 Fred married Kurri Kurri girl Blanche Millicent May Triggs, which was registered in Burwood, NSW.
HMS Stuart was one of nine Scott Class Destroyers built between 1917 and 1919 under the British Government’s Wartime Emergency Construction Programme. From her commissioning in the Royal Navy on the 21st of December 1918 until she finally paid off in May 1933, most of Stuart’s seagoing service with the Royal Navy was spent on the Mediterranean Station as a unit of the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla.
In 1933 the Admiralty agreed to loan the Stuart and four V and W Class destroyers (Vampire (I), Vendetta (I), Voyager (I) and Waterhen (I)) to the Royal Australian Navy as replacements for the S Class destroyers then due for scrapping. HMAS Stuart and the other four ships commissioned in the Royal Australian Navy at Portsmouth on the 11th of October 1933 to form the Australian Destroyer Flotilla, later to become famous as the “Scrap Iron Flotilla”.
The Flotilla departed Chatham on the 17th of October 1933 and proceeded via Suez, Singapore and Darwin arriving in Sydney on the 21st of December 1933. Stuart served on the Australia Station until 1 June 1938 when she paid off at Sydney.
She recommissioned for a short period at the time of the Munich Crisis between the 29 September 1938 to 30 November 1938, however with the outbreak of war Stuart was recommissioned on the 1st of September 1939 performing anti-submarine patrols based on Sydney, alternating with Vendetta (I) and Waterhen (I).
Frank enlisted with the Royal Australian Navy on the 26th of August 1839 and was at Penguin the next day to join the ship’s company of HMAS Stuart.
On the 14th of October 1939, in company with Vendetta (I) and Waterhen (I), Stuart departed Sydney for Singapore, proceeding via Darwin and Lombok Strait. The same day, Vampire (I) and Voyager (I) departed Fremantle to join company at Singapore. The Flotilla was under the command of Commander HML Waller RAN (Commander (D)), in Stuart.
It had been intended to base the destroyers in Singapore for a period of training but, while the Flotilla was still at sea, it was decided that after a brief stop at Singapore it should proceed to the Mediterranean. The two ships ex Fremantle arrived at Singapore on 21 October 1939 where they were joined on 29 October by Stuart, Waterhen (I) and Vendetta (I).
The Flotilla sailed from Singapore on the 13th of November 1939. The flotilla made a brief stop at Columbo, Ceylon however after departure, Fred fell ill necessitating the flotilla to split up enroute Aden. While the other ships continued as planned, Stuart diverted to Madagascar as the seriousness of Fred’s condition could not be treated on board. He was offloaded and admitted to the local military hospital in Diego Suarez (Hopital Maritime de Diego Suarez) for treatment. Stuart continued her voyage to rejoin the flotilla at Aden on the 1st of January 1940.
Sadly, Fred died of acute meningitis on the 2nd of January 1940 and was buried with full military honours at the Diego Suarez Commonwealth War Cemetery.
