The area where the town of Bayles is now located was originally known as Yallock, however when the Strzelecki Railway line was opened in June 1922, the station for the Yallock settlement was called Bayles, after Frederick Bayles. Frederick was the first member of the Railway Construction Branch to be killed in World War One (1).
Frederick enlisted in the A.I.F, 7th Battalion, on August 20. 1914 and he was a bugler. He was 30 years old, single, of the Church of England faith and his occupation was listed as a Clerk in Government Service. His address on enlistment was 64 Hoddle Street in Abbotsford. Frederick was 5 feet, 7 inches in height; 11 stone 4 pounds in weight and had blue eyes and fair hair. His next of kin was his brother George Bayles of 6 Watery Lane, Merton Park in London. Frederick embarked on the Hororata on October 19, 1914 and less than seven months later was killed in action at Gallipoli, on May 8, 1915 (2).
The HMAT Horoarta - Frederick embarked in this ship October 19, 1914.
From the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website at www.cwgc.org we know that Frederick has his name on the Helles Memorial in Turkey which serves a memorial to the Commonwealth service men who died on the Gallipoli Peninsula and have no known grave or were buried at sea. This site lists Frederick’s parents as John and Louisa Bayles of Battersea in London.
Frederick was the youngest child of John and Louisa (nee Torr) Bayles. He was born on January 11, 1884 and attended Gideon Road School in Battersea. John was a Stone-mason. Frederick's siblings were - Louisa (born 1869), Annie (1871), Eleanor (1873), Arthur (1875), Alice (1877), George (1882) and then Frederick. The first four children were born in Wokingham, Berkshire, the same town where John and Louisa were married. The last three were born in Battersea, London. In the 1881 English Census the family lived at 8 Ashbury Road, Battersea. In the 1891 and 1901 Census they were at 59 Tyneham Road, Battersea. In this Census, Frederick was listed as Clerk. In the 1911 Census, Fred is living with his brother, George at 20 Shelton Road, Merton Park, Surrey. Also living there was George's wife Nellie and their two children - George, aged 5 and 3 year old Violet Nellie. In 1911, Fred's occupation was a Commercial traveller (5).
Frederick arrived in Melbourne on the Norseman in August 1913 (6). He was then employed by the Victorian Railways as a Clerk. Then a year after he arrived, he enlisted with the Australian Imperial Force and by the following May, he was dead. You would have to surmise that he had made a big impact on his fellow workers because seven years later, they honoured him by naming the Bayles Railway Station after him. The name soon spread to the small settlement surrounding the Station (7) thus the town is a memorial to Frederick and, in a sense, his fellow soldiers who were killed during the First World War.
Frederick's Roll of Honor circular (8) was completed by his sister-in-law, Nellie Bayles, the mother of little George and little Violet. Her own husband, George, was also Killed In Action, on September 21, 1917. He is buried at the Dozinghem Military Cemetery in Belgium (9).
Footnotes
