CARTHY, Phillip James
| Service Number: | 614 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 5 September 1914, An original member of E Company, 12th Bn. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 52nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Wallaroo Mines, South Australia, Australia, 28 February 1893 |
| Home Town: | Wallaroo Mines, Copper Coast, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Miner |
| Died: | South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 26 February 1952, aged 58 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Fawkner Memorial Park Cemetery, Victoria |
| Memorials: | Kadina & District WW1 Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 5 Sep 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 614, 12th Infantry Battalion, An original member of E Company, 12th Bn. | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1914: | Involvement Private, 614, 12th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Hobart embarkation_ship: HMAT Geelong embarkation_ship_number: A2 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Oct 1914: | Embarked Private, 614, 12th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Geelong, Hobart | |
| 11 Nov 1918: | Involvement Private, 614, 52nd Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Carthy was an original member of the 12th Battalion and landed at Gallipoli with the 12th Battalion on 25 April 1915. He was evacuated sick with influenza at the end of July 1915 but was back on Gallipoli three weeks later and served there until the evacuation. He transferred to the 52nd Battalion during the ‘doubling’ of the AIF in early 1916.
Philip James Carthy was recommended for an award along with Private Oscar Owre of the 52nd Battalion when on the 9 August 1916, at Pozieres, the enemy heavily shelled the Chalk Pit area, hitting an ammunition dump and wounding a number of men. At great danger to themselves, Owre and Carthy immediately went to their assistance through the shelling and rendered aid. They then removed the wounded to a comparative place of safety where the stretcher bearers were waiting.
Owre was awarded a Military Medal and a Russian Cross of St George for this incident. He was killed in action at Mouquet Farm less than three weeks later. Carthy did not receive an award.
Carthy was severely wounded at Mouquet Farm, shot through the knee, and was evacuated to England. After many months of recovery he was sent to Codford, England. He spent most of 1917 there, in trouble most of the time for going absent without leave. He was sent home in early 1918 due to the gunshot wound.
During 1945 he wrote to the AIF on the mistaken understanding that “Diggers that had the bad luck to get V.D. in the last war would get their money that was deducted, refunded on application.” He also stated he was a married man “and happy, so when you write, please use your discretion in case the family get the letter.”