The AIF Project

Ben Harold BAILEY

Regimental number272
Place of birthBunbury, Western Australia
SchoolWest Guildford Public School, Western Australia
ReligionChurch of England
OccupationBlacksmith
AddressLord Street, West Guildford, Western Australia
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation20
Height5' 10.25"
Weight155.5 lbs
Next of kinFather, Frank Bailey, Lord Street, West Guildford, Western Australia
Previous military serviceServed in the 88th Infantry, Citizen Military Forces; still serving at time of AIF enlistment.
Enlistment date2 September 1914
Date of enlistment from Nominal Roll17 August 1914
Place of enlistmentBlackboy Hill, Western Australia
Rank on enlistmentPrivate
Unit name11th Battalion, C Company
AWM Embarkation Roll number23/28/1
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Fremantle, Western Australia, on board HMAT A11 Ascanius on 31 October 1914
Rank from Nominal RollPrivate
Unit from Nominal Roll11th Battalion
FateKilled in Action 2 May 1915
Place of death or woundingGallipoli, Turkey
Age at death from cemetery records21
Place of burialNo known grave
Commemoration detailsThe Lone Pine Memorial (Panel 33), Gallipoli, Turkey

The Lone Pine Memorial, situated in the Lone Pine Cemetery at Anzac, is the main Australian Memorial on Gallipoli, and one of four memorials to men of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Designed by Sir John Burnet, the principal architect of the Gallipoli cemeteries, it is a thick tapering pylon 14.3 metres high on a square base 12.98 metres wide. It is constructed from limestone mined at Ilgardere in Turkey.

The Memorial commemorates the 3268 Australians and 456 New Zealanders who have no known grave and the 960 Australians and 252 New Zealanders who were buried at sea after evacuation through wounds or disease. The names of New Zealanders commemorated are inscribed on stone panels mounted on the south and north sides of the pylon, while those of the Australians are listed on a long wall of panels in front of the pylon and to either side. Names are arranged by unit and rank.

The Memorial stands over the centre of the Turkish trenches and tunnels which were the scene of heavy fighting during the August offensive. Most cemeteries on Gallipoli contain relatively few marked graves, and the majority of Australians killed on Gallipoli are commemorated here.

Panel number, Roll of Honour,
  Australian War Memorial
61
Miscellaneous information from
  cemetery records
Parents: Frank and Jane BAILEY, Lord Street, West Guildford, Western Australia
Other details

War service: Egypt, Gallipoli

Embarked Alexandria to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, Gallipoli, 2 March 1915.

Killed in action, 2 May 1915.

His mother received a letter written on 12 October 1915 from the father of 354 Otto John SIEFKIN who wrote that he had just received a letter from Otto, now in hospital in London, who wrote of BAILEY'S last moments. The letter states: 'There were thirty of them in the boat from the troopship, and only fifteen survived. Ben was hit by a bullet, and died instantly, without speaking. They had only been on shore for five minutes when this happened'; she received another letter written on 7 August 1916 from 968 William Charles BRUTON, who was next to Ben when he died, stating that they were trying to take cover 20 yards from the water's edge when Ben was shot through the head. The letter also states that Ben BAILEY was killed on 25 April 1915.

Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
SourcesNAA: B2455, BAILEY Ben Harold

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