Frederick William Clabburn was born on 25 May 1924, at Hornsby, NSW to parents Herbert Sydney Warren Clabburn and Irene Gladys Royale Morris. Frederick served in the Second World War and the Korean War, as a medical orderly with the Royal Australian Medical Corps, 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment.
After the Second World War he was based in Iwakuni (near Hiroshima) Japan, where the 3rd Battalion RAR did intensive training and reinforcement before arriving in Korea in 1950. The battalion distinguished itself in fighting at Chongju, and received the Presidential Unit Citation (US). 3RAR remained in Korea until the end of the war in 1953.
Frederick arrived back in Australia on 5 October 1953. He married Pearl Gibbons and died on 2 July 1983, at age 59. Pearl died on 2 March 1971. Frederick is also commemorated at the Sydney War Cemetery, Rookwood.