The AIF Project

Joseph Rupert BALFE

Date of birth9 March 1890
Place of birthBrunswick, Victoria
SchoolUniversity High School, Melbourne, Victoria
Other trainingMatriculated, 1906; Senior Public, 1907; University of Melbourne, Victoria (Medicine, 5th yr)
OccupationMedical student
Address6 Barkley Street, Brunswick, Victoria
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation24
Height5' 6.5"
Weight147 lbs
Next of kinFather, Mr Balfe, 6 Barkley Street, Brunswick, Victoria
Previous military serviceServed 4 years in University Rifles (Citizen Military Forces), Melbourne, Victoria. Attended Kilmore Camp, 1911, as Private; 1912, as Lance Corporal; Heidelberg Camp, 1913, as Sergeant; Bundoora Camp, 1914, as 2nd Lieutenant.
Enlistment dateNO ENTRY
Rank on enlistment2nd Lieutenant
Unit name6th Battalion, A Company
AWM Embarkation Roll number23/23/1
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A20 Hororata on 19 October 1914
Rank from Nominal RollLieutenant
Unit from Nominal Roll6th Battalion
Promotions

Lieutenant


Unit: 6th Battalion
Promotion date: 3 February 1915

Other details from Roll of Honour Circular

Sergeant Collins reported: 'At Gaba Tepe 25/4/1915. Landing in the morning about 5.20 a.m., just reached beach and a bursting shell killed Balfe instantly. He was in command of B Coy. Came from Australia with informant on transport "Hororata" on 19th [October] 1914. Buried at Hillcrest - Shrapnel Gully - Gaba Tepe. Temporary cross erected. Dark complexion, about 25 years of age, thick set. From Victoria.' Base Records forwarded these details to Mr Balfe, 2 February 1921.

FateKilled in Action 25 April 1915
Place of death or woundingGallipoli, Turkey
Date of death25 April 1915
Age at death from cemetery records25
Place of burialNo known grave
Commemoration detailsThe Lone Pine Memorial (Panel 25), 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
45
Miscellaneous information from
  cemetery records
Parents: Matthew and Sarah Balfe, 60 Sydney Road, Brunswick, Victoria, Australia
Other details

War service: Egypt, Gallipoli

Promoted Lieutenant, 1 February 1915.

Embarked Alexandria to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force (Gallipoli Campaign), 5 April 1915.

Wounded in action, Gallipoli, 25 April 1915.

Now, 25 June 1915, reported as 'Wounded and Missing in Action, Gallipoli, 25 April 1915'.

Now, 1 July 1915, reported as 'Killed in Action, Gallipoli, 25 April 1915'.

Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
SourcesNAA: B2455, BALFE Joseph Rupert

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