Regimental number | 1317 |
Place of birth | Bolton Percy, Yorkshire, England |
Religion | Church of England |
Occupation | Labourer |
Marital status | Single |
Age at embarkation | 22.9 |
Height | 5' 8" |
Weight | 156 lbs |
Next of kin | Mother, Mrs Anna Abbey, Bolton Percy, Yorkshire, England |
Previous military service | Nil |
Enlistment date | |
Date of enlistment from Nominal Roll | |
Place of enlistment | Melbourne, Victoria |
Rank on enlistment | Private |
Unit name | 8th Battalion, 2nd Reinforcement |
AWM Embarkation Roll number | 23/25/2 |
Embarkation details | Unit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A46 Clan Macgillivray on |
Rank from Nominal Roll | Corporal |
Unit from Nominal Roll | 60th Battalion |
Other details from Roll of Honour Circular | Enlisted 22 December 1914 and posted to 8th Bn; transferred to 60th Bn on 24 February 1916. Wounded: (1st) 25 April 1915; (2) 5 July 1915; (3) 19 July 1916. |
Fate | Killed in Action |
Place of death or wounding | Somme sector, France |
Age at death | 24 |
Place of burial | No known grave |
Commemoration details | Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, France Villers-Bretonneux is a village about 15 km east of Amiens. The Memorial stands on the high ground ('Hill 104') behind the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery, Fouilloy, which is about 2 km north of Villers-Bretonneux on the east side of the road to Fouilloy. The Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux is approached through the Military Cemetery, at the end of which is an open grass lawn which leads into a three-sided court. The two pavilions on the left and right are linked by the north and south walls to the back (east) wall, from which rises the focal point of the Memorial, a 105 foot tall tower, of fine ashlar. A staircase leads to an observation platform, 64 feet above the ground, from which further staircases lead to an observation room. This room contains a circular stone tablet with bronze pointers indicating the Somme villages whose names have become synonymous with battles of the Great War; other battle fields in France and Belgium in which Australians fought; and far beyond, Gallipoli and Canberra. On the three walls, which are faced with Portland stone, are the names of 10,885 Australians who were killed in France and who have no known grave. The 'blocking course' above them bears the names of the Australian Battle Honours. After the war an appeal in Australia raised £22,700, of which £12,500 came from Victorian school children, with the request that the majority of the funds be used to build a new school in Villers-Bretonneux. The boys' school opened in May 1927, and contains an inscription stating that the school was the gift of Victorian schoolchildren, twelve hundred of whose fathers are buried in the Villers-Bretonneux cemetery, with the names of many more recorded on the Memorial. Villers-Bretonneux is now twinned with Robinvale, Victoria, which has in its main square a memorial to the links between the two towns. |
Panel number, Roll of Honour, Australian War Memorial | 169 |
Other details |
War service: Egypt, Gallipoli, Western Front Embarked Alexandria to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, Gallipoli, 5 April 1915. Reported missing, Gallipoli, 25 April 1915. Reported wounded in action, 25 April 1915 (gun shot wound, hip); transferred by HS 'Clan McGillivray' to Malta, and admitted to Convalescent Hospital, Tigne, 4 May 1915; discharged to rejoin MEF, 26 May 1915; rejoined Bn, Gallipoli, 24 June 1915. Wounded in action (second occasion), 5 July 1915 (gun shot wound, scalp), and admitted to HS 'Gascon'; transferred to Malta, 18 July 1915, and admitted to Amberge de Baviere (shrapnel wound to skull: serious); transferred to Ghain Tuffeha Camp, 18 August 1915. Found guilty, 14 September 1915, of being in licensed premises 'Advance Bar', Valetta, 8-45 pm, 14 September 1915, contrary to Fortress Orders 21-5-15: awarded 3 days' Field Punishment No 2. Reported to Overseas Base, Mustapha, Egypt, from Malta, 30 September 1915. Embarked Alexandria to rejoin MEF, 18 October 1915; rejoined Bn, Gallipoli, 23 November 1915. Disembarked Alexandria, 7 January 1916 (general Gallipoli evacuation). Transferred to 60th Bn, 24 February 1916. Detached to School of Instruction, Zeitoun, 29 April 1916; rejoined Bn, Duntroon Plateau, from detachment, 11 May 1916. Embarked Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force, 18 June 1916; disembarked Marseilles, France, 29 June 1916. Reported wounded in action, 19 July 1916. Admitted to 25th General Hospital, 21 July 1916 (gunshot wound); transferred to No 1 Convalescent Depot, Boulogne, 27 July 1916; to Base Depot, Etaples, 31 July 1916; rejoined Bn, in the field, 12 August 1916. Promoted Corporal, 10 October 1916. Killed in action, 20 November 1916. Handwritten notation on Form B103: 'Buried'. Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal |
Sources | NAA: B2455, ABBEY Ernest |