Fred Schoch
SCHOCH, Frederick Harold (Fred), BE(Hons) (1918-1941)
Fred Schoch was born in Geraldton on September 4, 1918, the eldest child of schoolteacher, Frederick Arthur Schoch and his wife Merle Annette Blanche Schoch nee Rogers. He was educated at No 1 Saw Mill (Deanmill), Coolgardie State School, Kurrawang State School, Kalgoorlie High School and Perth Modern School, completing his Leaving Certificate in 1934.
Fred enrolled in engineering at the University of Western Australia in 1935, living at St George’s College. He completed the five year degree course in August 1939 and then went straight to researching the production of charcoal from wood as a source for producer gas.
Fred had spent twelve weeks working for Cooperative Bulk Handling (CBH) in 1938 as a design draftsman working on the 4,000 tonne grain storage facility at the Fremantle Inner Harbour. In December 1939 he was offered a position as Assistant Engineer at CBH by Chief Engineer, A E R Stephenson.
In October 1940, Fred joined the Royal Australian Navy Volunteer Reserve as Engineer Sub Lieutenant and was ultimately posted to HMAS Sydney on August 18, 1941. On October 5, 1941 he married Mary Elizabeth (Betty) Ross at Claremont while HMAS Sydney was at Fremantle[1].
HMAS Sydney left for escort duty from Fremantle on November 11, 1941 and was sunk by the German auxiliary cruiser “Kormoran” on November 19, 1941. The entire crew of 645 perished with the sinking of HMAS Sydney. In February 1942, a Carley Float with a body of a sailor on board washed up on Christmas Island. It was thought that the sailor might have been Fred Schoch but much more recent DNA testing did not produce a match.
It was not until December 1941 that the loss of HMAS Sydney was announced. She was one of the most modern and capable warships in the Australian Navy, having been commissioned in 1935.
Fred Schoch’s sacrifice was memorialised in the Winzar Telford Prize, created in 1946 for the best student in final year civil engineering. The award was created to recognise the contribution of six engineering graduates who lost their lives in World War II. Fred was survived by his father and mother, wife Betty and his siblings Arthur, Derek and Merle.
References;
Richenda Goldfinch (editor), Legends of the Grain Game, CBH, 2003
Western Argus, 9.12,1930, p2
West Australian, 12.12.1939, p8
Commonwealth Gazette, 24.10.1940, p2290
West Australian, 10.4.1947, p8
- ↑ Read Betty's memories of their romance and marriage day, written in March 2007.
