van den Bok, F

2nd Lieutenant Frederick van den Bok

Fred was born on May 6^th 1894, the second child, and eldest son, of Dutch merchant Adrian van den Bok and his Australian-born wife, Ellen. He spent time at West Hill School before coming to the College in the summer of 1907, where he would later be followed by four of his younger brothers; his elder sister, Wilhelmina, would marry an OA, Duncan Shepherd. Fred’s time at Dulwich lasted just short of three years, as he left in the spring of 1910, going on to spend two further years of education in Bruges, Belgium. Having finished his education, he spent two years working for the Union-Castle Shipping Line, based in their offices on Fenchurch Street.

In September 1914, a month after the declaration of war, Fred enlisted in the Public Schools Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment, based at Kempton Park. He later went on to take up a commission in the 6^th Battalion of the same regiment the following April. After another year spent training in England he went over to the front for the first time in May 1916, attached to the 2^nd Battalion, and was involved in the preparations for the Somme offensive. He was killed in action near La Boisselle on July 1^st 1916, the first day of the Somme, one of seven OAs to fall that day.