The AIF Project

Mervin Albert BENBOW

Regimental number853
Place of birthWandong, Victoria
SchoolBrighton St State School, Richmond, Victoria
ReligionChurch of England
OccupationRubber worker
Address69 Richmond Terrace, Richmond, Victoria
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation21
Height5' 8"
Weight147 lbs
Next of kinT.J. Benbow, 69 Richmond Terrace, Richmond, Victoria
Previous military serviceNil
Enlistment date19 August 1914
Place of enlistmentPrahran, Victoria
Rank on enlistmentPrivate
Unit name5th Battalion, G Company
AWM Embarkation Roll number23/22/1
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board Transport A3 Orvieto on 21 October 1914
Rank from Nominal RollPrivate
Unit from Nominal Roll5th 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 24), 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
43
Miscellaneous information from
  cemetery records
Parents: Thomas James and Harriett BENBOW, 'Katoomba', Bellavista Street, Caulfield, Victoria, Australia. Native of Wandong.
Other details

War service: Egypt, Gallipoli

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

Found guilty, 10 April 1915, of neglect of duty while on guard: awarded 14 days' extra fatigues.

Killed in action, Dardanelles, 25 April 1915.

Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
SourcesNAA: B2455, BENBOW Mervin Albert

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