Fred Beerling was 26 when he emigrated to Warwick in Queensland from England with his wife Mildred. He became a carter in the area and played soccer for the Warwick club in their regular games against the mining community of Tannymorel.
He enlisted at the age of 32 in July 1916, arriving in France almost a year later. He suffered a gunshot wound to the right leg in October 1917, which saw him evacuated to England, where he stayed until March. Beerling returned to France to join the newly formed 3rd Machine Gun Battalion and fought in the German Spring Offensive and the Allies subsequent counteroffensive.
Beerling’s war was ended by another gunshot wound in August 1918 which ultimately led to his return to Australia in the new year. After the war, Beerling became an orchardist at the Soldier’s Settlement at Stanthorpe, south of Warwick, as part of a program to grant land to returned soldiers, before the family moved to Sherwood in Brisbane in the mid-1930s.