Surgery Grey Street 100 Years

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Frank joined the 10th Light Horse when he was 17. During WW11, Frank enlisted in the Navy on June 30, 1941 in Fremantle Western Australia.

His service number was: Royal Australian navy F3806. He was discharged on 21st January, 1946 with the rank of Able Seaman. When he was in the Navy, he kept a diary during the year of 1943. The diary notes only the ship's movements and there are few personal observations except when it was hot or the one time they picked up survivors from a ship that had sunk.

He returned to live and work on the family farm after the war. He told that he didn't enjoy the experience and that he was delighted that he could do further studies. He said that he had observed one of his ship mate's studying and had asked him how he got the course material. On being advised that it was from a Sydney University, Frank enrolled himself to do external studies in mathematics. He said that after the war when he sat an aptitude test he was closely scrutinized as the naval people were suspicious that he had cheated in his mathematics test because he had left school at a relatively young age but seemed more than competent at mathematics.
He said that once he told them that he had studied while he was in the Navy, they supported his decision to undertake further study.
He enrolled at the Perth Technical College and passed his leaving exam. He then enrolled in Medicine at Melbourne University in 1948 and completed a MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) in 1953. There was no faculty of Medicine at the University of Western Australia at that time.

He married Noelene Rowe on 30th December 1950. The Narrogin Observer dated 20th January, 1951 noted that the wedding took place at the Anglican Church, Narrogin with Reverend Flemmimg officiating.

Noel wore a French Applique'd lace gown, carried a bouquet of gardenias and tuber roses and wore a three strand pearl necklace, a gift from Frank. Her attendants were her two sisters, Maxine (Mrs B Elliott) and Linley (Mrs Bob McKenzie) and Miss Beryl Carmody. Frank was attended by Noel's brother, Mr David owe as best man and Messrs Bob Mckenzie and Reg Holland (cousin of the groom) as groomsmen.
After the ceremony, 150 guests attended the wedding breakfast which was held in the Narrogin Town Hall. Frank and Noel toured the South West for their honeymoon and left for Melbourne about the middle of February 1951.


Pictured Above: Bob McKenzie, Reg Holland, David Rowe, Frank Holland,Noel (Rowe), Lin (Rowe), Maxine (Rowe) and Beryl Carmody	Pictured Above: Noelene Rowe taken at the Narrogin Show Ball 1948