The AIF Project

James Logie HARCUS

Date of birth22 November 1881
Place of birthHeatherbank Westray Orkney, Northern Scotland
SchoolMidbea Public School, Westray Orkney, Heriot Watt College, Edinburgh, Scotland
Other trainingCould speak Gaelic fluently. Known as 'Hamish'
Age on arrival in Australia25
ReligionPresbyterian
OccupationBarrister at law
AddressHeatherbank, Westray, Orkney, Scotland
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation33
Height5' 8.75"
Weight162 lbs
Next of kinMother, Mrs Jane Harcus, Heatherbank, Westray, Orkney, Scotland
Previous military serviceServed for 8 years in British regiments; served for 2 years in the 25th Australian Infantry Regiment as a captain
Enlistment date7 May 1915
Place of enlistmentSydney, New South Wales
Rank on enlistmentMajor
Unit name20th Battalion, D Company
AWM Embarkation Roll number23/37/5
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A35 Berrima on 26 June 1915
Rank from Nominal RollMajor
Unit from Nominal Roll20th Battalion
Promotions

Commissioned 7 May 1915


Promotion date: Major 1 June 1915

Other details from Roll of Honour CircularMigrated to Australia (Sydney) from Britain in 1907. He passed finals of Barristers Exams with Supreme Court of New South Wales. Worked for a firm called McLoughlins.
FateKilled in Action 11 December 1915
Place of death or woundingGallipoli, Turkey
Age at death34
Age at death from cemetery records34
Commemoration detailsThe Lone Pine Memorial (Panel 64), 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
91
Miscellaneous information from
  cemetery records
Parents: Andrew and Jane HARCUS, Heatherbank, Westray, Orkney, Scotland
Other details

War service: Egypt, Gallipoli

Appointed captain, Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force, 18 August 1914.

Appointed captain, Australian Imperial Force, 2 May 1915.

Promoted major, 1 June 1915.

Embarked Sydney, 26 June 1915.

Embarked Alexandria to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, Gallipoli, 16 August 1915.

Admitted to the 5th Field Ambulance (dysentery), Gallipoli, 16 October 1915; rejoined 20th Bn, Gallipoli, 1 November 1915.

Killed in action, Gallipoli, 11 December 1915; buried at the foot of Walker's Ridge.

Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
Place of burialNo known grave. Commemorated on the Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli. Panel No. 64
SourcesNAA: B2455, HARCUS James Logie

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