Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Son of Henry and Mary Ann (nee Hamilton) DE VOOGD.

Native of Eaglehawk, Victoria

DE VOOGD - Killed in action, on October 12th; 1917, somewhere in France, Private Henry J. de Voogd, late Horseshoe Mine, son of Mr. and Mrs. H. de Voogd, late of Eaglehawk, Bendigo, and nephew of  Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton, Walter-street, Boulder.
His duty nobly done.

The eldest son was called Henry John de Voogd, he was born in July 1883 in Eaglehawk. Henry John went to the local school in Eaglehawk until he was 12. Like his father, he went to work in the mines. He excelled at rugby and was a member of the Eaglehawk Rangers. He also played music, probably clarinet, like his father.

Around the turn of the century, the gold mining industry in Bendigo was already far past its peak and many families were threatened with poverty. Henry John decided to try his luck elsewhere. He left for the west of Australia where new large gold veins were discovered around 1893. A new town was founded: Kalgoorlie. The mine veins were known as the Golden Mile. Henry John also went there in the hope of being able to get a piece of the pie.

On 10 February 1916, de Voogd enlisted in the Australian army in Blackboy Hill, Western Australia. He was already 32 years old but still physically fit. He went to a training camp at Blackboy Hill. Then on 17 April 1916 de Voogd embarked on the H.M.A.T. Aeneas in the Western Australian city of Fremantle. The ship took him to the Mediterranean, where he transferred to the Franconia in Alexandria. On 16 June 1916 he arrived in Plymouth. After a few days in the Rolleston Camp, de Voogd left for France where he was taken up in the 51st Battalion in August 1916. With his musical talents he won a place in the battalion band.

In early September 1916 he was wounded during the Battle of the Somme at Mouquet Farm. A bullet pierced his wrist and de Voogd had to go to hospital. Via Rouen and Le Havre he ended up in Birmingham. The wound healed quickly and halfway through November 1916 he was able to rejoin his unit via Folkestone and Etaples.

At the end of December 1916 he was summoned to appear before a court martial. On 21 December he had ignored an order from a British officer at the front in Longueval. When the officer ordered him to help, the Guardian told him bluntly: No, I am already busy with other work. De Guardian pleaded not guilty, but the court martial sentenced him to two years in prison with hard labour. A few days after the trial, however, the sentence was postponed. De Guardian was able to return to his unit.

On 19 February 1917 he had to go to hospital again in France and England because of illness. His stay in England lasted longer than expected, but he had no illusions about the duration of the war. From a camp in Windmill Hill he wrote a letter home on 9 September: I am glad to be able to say again that I am in the best of health and in England. I was somewhat lucky in missing another mission to France. I was examined and placed in a batch of reinforcements to return to the old battalion, but they let 4 of us out. They said it was a brigade order not to send any of the staff, because the band is part of the staff, so I was one of the lucky ones. I hope everyone in my family is OK and that I will see you all again (when the Germans throw in the towel). No sign of him so far.

10 days later his orders for the front followed and on 30th September 1917 he was back with his unit. On 12th October the troops of the 4th Australian Division were to go into the attack to protect the right flank of the 3rd Australian Division south of Passchendaele. The 51st Battalion was to relieve the attacking battalions in the firing line in the evening. C Company lost its way and was hit by a heavy load of artillery shells. It is believed that Private Henry John de Voogd was killed in this attack. No Red Cross file was made for him and the exact circumstances of his death are unknown.

Early July 1920 his body was found about 200 metres north of the Zonnebeke-Broodseinde road and an equal distance west of the Broodseinde-Passendale road. The remains of De Voogd were transferred to Tyne Cot Cemetery. A wooden cross was placed on the grave, but with the wrong name: De Noogd. Henry John's father wrote to the army: my friends tried for 3 days to find the grave, but had no success because they were looking for De Voogd and of course could not find that name. Today the correct name is on the gravestone, which is conspicuous by the absence of a religious symbol.

Source: Passchendaele 1917 - The story of the dead and Tyne Cot Cemetery - Franky Bostyn (2007)