PARKER, Harold Hill
| Service Number: | 4297 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 59th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Kaniva, Victoria, Australia, 10 February 1893 |
| Home Town: | Emerald, Cardinia, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 26 September 1917, aged 24 years |
| Cemetery: |
Hooge Crater Cemetery, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 29 Dec 1915: | Involvement Private, 4297, 8th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Demosthenes embarkation_ship_number: A64 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 29 Dec 1915: | Embarked Private, 4297, 8th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Demosthenes, Melbourne | |
| 26 Sep 1917: | Involvement Private, 4297, 59th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 4297 awm_unit: 59th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1917-09-26 |
Harold Hill Parker
Eldest son of John William Thomas Parker and Mary Parker, of Langwarrin North, Victoria, Australia.
Harold was killed in action in the Battle of Polygon Wood on 26 September 1917, aged 24. According to a fellow soldier, he died shortly after a shell exploded near him which 'blew off his leg'.
From https://www.melbourneplaygrounds.com.au/anzac-walk-emerald:
Avonsleigh farmer, Harry Parker was in Black Watch Corner about to attack the German positions in Polygon Wood. At 5:53am the troops advanced behind a barrage of support artillery and Harry went missing in action. His mother heard nothing from the military and English girl Bertha Prosser went searching. Writing to the Red Cross, she found the news she and Harry's family were dreading; Harry was dead. His soldier mates recalled: Wilson told me he had seen Parker lying wounded at Polygon Wood. He died shortly after.
Harold's body was finally found 9 years later in 1926, approx 1/5 miles East of Westhoek, exhumed and buried in the Hooge Crater Cemetery, Belgium, plot XII. K. 3.
Harold's younger brother, Lance Ellis Parker, was captured in Greece by German Army in WW2 and was a POW for more than 4 years. He was repatriated in 1945 and died in Melbourne in 1985.
Submitted 1 February 2026 by Christine Baunton