Regimental number | 5801 |
Date of birth | |
Place of birth | Wellington, New South Wales |
Religion | Church of England |
Occupation | Storekeeper |
Address | Wongarbon, New South Wales |
Marital status | Widowed |
Age at embarkation | 38.5 |
Height | 5' 8" |
Weight | 144 lbs |
Next of kin | Son, Reginald Hughes, Wongarbon, New South Wales |
Previous military service | Nil |
Enlistment date | |
Date of enlistment from Nominal Roll | |
Place of enlistment | Dubbo, New South Wales |
Rank on enlistment | Private |
Unit name | 18th Battalion, 16th Reinforcement |
AWM Embarkation Roll number | 23/35/3 |
Embarkation details | Unit embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A40 Ceramic on |
Rank from Nominal Roll | Private |
Unit from Nominal Roll | 18th Battalion |
Fate | Killed in Action |
Place of death or wounding | Bullecourt, France |
Age at death | 39 |
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 | 85 |
Other details |
War service: Western Front Embarked Sdney, 7 October 1916; disembarked Plymouth, England, 21 November 1916; marched into 5th Training Bn, Rollestone, 7 December 1918. Proceeded overseas to France, 13 December 1916; joined 18th Bn, in the field, 27 January 1916. Reported missing in action, 3 May 1917. Now, 8 October 1917, reported killed in action, 3 May 1917. Note on Red Cross File: 'No trace in Germany. Cert. by Capt Mills 10.10.19.' Statement, 5788 Pte Edward Charles CRACKNELL, D Company, 18th Bn (patient, V.A. Hospital, Plymouth, England), 14 August 1917: 'I knew him well he came over from Australia in the same Unit. I am unable to give any information about him during the attack on May 3rd[.] Pte P.D. Oliver of D. Coy. 18th Battn told me that he saw Hughes rise out of a shell hole and fall back immediately into the hole apparently shot through the body or chest.' Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal |
Sources | NAA: B2455, HUGHES Llewellyn
Red Cross File No 1381012G |