Cecil Vernon DOWN

Regimental number805
Place of birthMaidstone, Kent, England
SchoolSkinness School, Tunbridge Well,s Kent, England
Other trainingStock Exchange, London.
Age on arrival in Australia19
ReligionChurch of England
OccupationBank clerk
Address165 Stephens Road, Tunbridge Wells Kent, England
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation21
Next of kinMother, Mrs Down, 165 Stephens Road, Tunbridge Wells Kent, England
Enlistment date25 September 1914
Date of enlistment from Nominal Roll28 September 1914
Rank on enlistmentPrivate
Unit name16th Battalion, 1st Reinforcement
AWM Embarkation Roll number23/33/2
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A35 Berrima on 22 December 1914
Rank from Nominal RollPrivate
Unit from Nominal Roll16th Battalion
FateKilled in Action 2 May 1915
Place of death or woundingGallipoli, Turkey
Date of death2 May 1915
Age at death22
Place of burialNo known grave
Commemoration detailsThe Lone Pine Memorial (Panel 53), 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
79
Miscellaneous information from
  cemetery records
Town. Katanning, Western Australia
Family/military connectionsCousin: Hubert Henry Roots, MM - 16th Battalion.
Other details

War service: Egypt, Gallipoli

Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal