The AIF Project

William Rufus CURTIS

Regimental number1122
Place of birthSouth Sydney New South Wales
ReligionChurch of England
OccupationLabourer
Address44 Greek Street, Glebe, Sydney, New South Wales
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation26
Next of kinSister, Mrs Slater, 44 Greek Street, Glebe, Sydney, New South Wales
Enlistment date19 October 1914
Rank on enlistmentPrivate
Unit name3rd Battalion, 1st Reinforcement
AWM Embarkation Roll number23/20/2
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A32 Themistocles on 22 December 1914
Regimental number from Nominal Roll2122
Rank from Nominal RollPrivate
Unit from Nominal Roll3rd Battalion
FateKilled in Action 06-12 August 1915
Date of death10 August 1915
Age at death from cemetery records27
Place of burialNo known grave
Commemoration detailsThe Lone Pine Memorial (Panel 20), 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
36
Miscellaneous information from
  cemetery records
Parents: William and Rachel CURTIS. Native of Sydney
Other details

War service: Egypt, Gallipoli

Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal

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