Zavel Freadman was born in Melbourne on 21 January 1895, and was an Architectural Draftsman when he joined No 4 Sqn AFC in Melbourne on 23 December 1916 as a Second Lieutenant. He had previously served as a Lieutenant in the 49th Infantry of the AMF.

His unit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board RMS Omrah on 17 January 1917. After arrival in England he was sent to No 47 Reserve Sqn and then No 45 Training Sqn RFC to train as a pilot.

He died in an aircraft accident at West Common Aerodrome, Lincoln at 11.25 on 9 September 1917 when flying B.E.2E B4450 on his first solo flight. Before this flight Zavel had received 4.5 hours dual instruction on a B.E.2E

His instructor had told him to take off and, if he felt confident enough, to try some landings. The aeroplane climbed to about 200 feet “while at stalling point” and made some flat turns to the right before nose diving into the ground. 2Lt Freadman suffered a fractured skull and died in hospital at about 13.00.