BASTIAN, Arthur Richard
| Service Number: | 1111 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 23 February 1916, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 38th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, date not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Coburg, Moreland, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Messines, Belgium, France, 28 May 1917, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial |
Biography contributed by Stephen Brooks
1111 Private Arthur Richard Bastian, 38th Battalion, was killed in action on the 28th May, 1917, only three months after his father was killed in France. Arthur was 23 years old and has no known grave. He was an original member of D Company of the 38th Battalion when it was formed and left Australia in June 1916.
According to his Red Cross file, he was either killed or mortally wounded during a raid carried out by the 38th Battalion, in front of “Plugstreet Wood”, a week before the attack at Messines. According to one witness he was buried in a cemetery near Charing Cross Dressing Station. An indication of why so many graves were lost is summed up in his description of events, “I don’t know if there was a cross erected but anyhow; Fritz got into the cemetery with heavy shelling in June and tore it to pieces.”
Biography
38 Battalion
Rank - Private
Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal
Son of Richard Charles Bastian of Elizabeth Street, Newlands, Coburg, Victoria. Next of kin was a sister Ida Norman, 1 Balgonie Place, Northcote,Victoria