The AIF Project

Howard William BETTLES

Regimental number910
Place of birthNorth Melbourne, Victoria
SchoolState School, North Melbourne, Victoria
ReligionChurch of England
OccupationLabourer
Address3 Balston Street, North Melbourne, Victoria
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation20
Height5' 5.5"
Weight128 lbs
Next of kinMother, Mrs C.S. Bettles, 3 Balston Street, North Melbourne, Victoria
Previous military serviceSenior Cadets (1 year); 64th Infantry (2 years)
Enlistment date17 August 1914
Place of enlistmentMelbourne, Victoria
Rank on enlistmentPrivate
Unit name6th Battalion, D Company
AWM Embarkation Roll number23/23/1
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board Transport A20 Hororata on 19 October 1914
Rank from Nominal RollPrivate
Unit from Nominal Roll6th Battalion
FateKilled in Action 25 April 1915
Place of death or woundingGallipoli, Turkey
Date of death25 April 1915
Age at death21
Age at death from cemetery records21
Place of burialNo known grave
Commemoration detailsThe Lone Pine Memorial (Panel 26), 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
46
Miscellaneous information from
  cemetery records
Parents: John and Caroline Sarah BETTLES, 3 Balston Street, North Melbourne, Victoria
Family/military connectionsBrothers: 2377 Pte Aubyn Christmas BETTLES, 59th Bn, returned to Australia, 6 June 1918; 336 Pte Hedley Farquahson BETTLES, 14th Machine Gun Company, killed in action, 12 May 1917; 507 Pte Leslie Randolph BETTLES, 23rd Bn, returned to Australia, 29 January 1916.
Other details

War service: Egypt, Gallipoli

Discharged from No 2 General Hospital, Mena, Egypt, 4 April 1915.

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

Posted as missing in action, Gallipoli, 25 April 1915.

Court of Enquiry, Rouen, France, 3 September 1917, until 5 September 1917, pronounces fate as 'Killed in Action, Gallipoli, on or about 25 April 1915'.

Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
SourcesNAA: B2455, BETTLES Howard William

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