The AIF Project

Rupert Charles WARD

Regimental number4933
Place of birthNorth Melbourne, Victoria
SchoolState School, Victoria
ReligionChurch of England
OccupationFarm labourer
Address18 Mary Street, Windsor, Victoria
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation18
Next of kinFather, W C Ward, 18 Mary Street, Windsor, Victoria
Previous military serviceNil
Enlistment date10 November 1915
Place of enlistmentMelbourne, Victoria
Rank on enlistmentPrivate
Unit name6th Battalion, 15th Reinforcement
AWM Embarkation Roll number23/23/4
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A18 Wiltshire on 7 March 1916
Rank from Nominal RollPrivate
Unit from Nominal Roll60th Battalion
FateKilled in Action 19 July 1916
Age at death18
Place of burialNo known grave
Commemoration detailsV.C. Corner (Panel No 22), Australian Cemetery Memorial, Fromelles, France
Panel number, Roll of Honour,
  Australian War Memorial
171
Miscellaneous information from
  cemetery records
Parents: William Charles and Lillian WARD.
Other details

War service: Egypt, Western Front

Transferred to 60th Bn, and taken on strength, Duntroon Plateau, 20 April 1916.

Embarked Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force, 18 June 1916; disembarked Marseilles, France, 29 June 1916.

Reported Missing, 19 July 1916.

Court of Enquiry, held in the field, 4 August 1917, pronounced fate as 'Killed in Action, 19 July 1916'.

Note, Red Cross File No 2860206: 'No trace Germany[.] Cert. by Capt. Mills 10-10-19.'

Statement, 3664 Pte C.R. CARTER, 60th Bn, 16 December 1916: 'Witness says he saw the soldier lying dead between the parapet of the trench and the barb wire entanglements at Fleurbaix. Witness knew Ward very well and was sure it was him. He also said there were no marks on him, in fact from the parapet he could not see any signs on him of wounds.'

Second statement, 2889 Pte W. STEWART, 60th Bn (patient, 2nd Australian Auxiliary Hospital, Southall, England), 19 December 1916: 'He was killedinstantly in a charge at Fromelles by Machine Gun. He was lying out in No Man's Land, when I came in. I don't think he was brought in and buried.'

Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal
SourcesNAA: B2455, WARD Rupert Charles
Red Cross File No 2860206

Print format    


© The AIF Project 2024, UNSW Canberra. Not to be reproduced without permission.