S26586
ADCOCK, Ralph Edgar
| Service Number: | 5338 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 6 February 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Lance Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 10th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Wayville, South Australia, 3 October 1894 |
| Home Town: | Croydon, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Carpenter |
| Died: | Callon Park Mental Hospital, NSW, 18 May 1954, aged 59 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
West Terrace Cemetery (AIF Section) Section: KO, Road: 19A, Site No: 32 |
| Memorials: | Hindmarsh Baptist Church WW1 Roll of Honour, Hindmarsh Star of Freedom Tent No 4 IOOR WW1 Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 6 Feb 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1 | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Apr 1916: | Embarked Private, 5338, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Aeneas, Adelaide | |
| 11 Apr 1916: | Involvement Private, 5338, 10th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Aeneas embarkation_ship_number: A60 public_note: '' | |
| 11 Nov 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Lance Sergeant, 5338, 10th Infantry Battalion |
World War 2 Service
| 8 Apr 1942: | Enlisted Adelaide, SA | |
|---|---|---|
| 16 Jul 1942: | Enlisted Adelaide |
Military Medal Citation
He was awarded the Military Medal in October, 1917.
“During the operation at Polygon Wood east of Ypres on 19-22/9/17 Cpl Adcock rendered valuable services. He volunteered for a special patrol which went out 600 yards in front of our line and remained there throughout the night of 20-21/9/17 under heavy artillery fire. He sent back reports of enemy movements to the Artillery and, by this means, several attempted concentrations of the enemy were frustrated. He was wounded early in the evening but carried on and his devotion to duty set a splendid example to his men and was the means of greatly protecting our front line”.
Submitted 30 January 2016 by Faithe Jones
Biography
Son of Thomas ADCOCK and Elizabeth Jane nee GREEN
Biography contributed by Luca POLYMENEAS
Ralph Edgar Adcock was born on the 3rd of October 1894 in Adelaide. The son of Elizabeth Jane Adcock (nee Green) and Thomas Adcock. He had a brother called Albert Percival Adcock who also served in WW1. Ralph worked as a carpenter and was part of the Baptist Church. He was an average height of 5ft 8 and had a lean build, as shown in some of his photos. Ralph enlisted in the war at the age of 21 on the 21st of February 1916. His service number was 5338; he was assigned to the 10th Australian Military Battalion and departed Adelaide on the 11th of April 1916, where he was sent aboard the HMAT A60 arriving in Egypt. He proceeded to France in September.
Once Ralph arrived in France he was posted to the Somme where he fought his first battle. Somme is known as one of the major battles of WW1 as it would wear down Germanys army as well as taking pressure off of France, but besides these factors, it was one of the bloodiest wars ever with 3 million soldiers participating and 1 million being injured or killed. On the 10th of October 1916 Ralph was sent to Hospital with trench foot which was a common condition in the trenches where soldier's feet contracted infections due to being waterlogged. After treatment in England, he returned to the frontlines on the 26th April 1917.
His brother, Albert Percival Adcock, service number 1615, was fighting with the 50th battalion in Noreiul, France, when he was KIA on the 2nd of April 1917, the day the battle commenced; Ralph did not know about this until a later date.
Ralph was then moved from the Somme frontlines and placed in Ypres. After these events took place, Ralph Adcock suffered a fractured rib on the 22nd of July 1917 and was discharged from the hospital on the 25th of July 1917. While he was east of Ypres, on the 19th of September 1917, Ralph volunteered to be a part of a special patrol in which a group of soldiers went 600 yards (584 Meters) into Polygon woods where they collected and sent data back to the Allied force's. Early during the first day, Ralph was shot in the leg but stayed for the remaining 3 days frustrating the Germans as many attempts of fire on Allies were thwarted. He received a Military Medal for his actions and was promoted to Corporal rank.
In September 1917 Ralph was gassed and required hospital treatment in England. He returned to France in March 1918.
Ralph returned to Australia on the 4th of October 1919 and married Alice Maude, a young woman from Adelaide. He was discharged from the AIF on the 27th of October 1919. He moved to Hindmarsh, Adelaide, with her and lived out his life until he was sent to Callan Park Mental Hospital on the 18th of May, 1954 due to the war's later effects on his mental health and the loss of his brother.
He died on the 18th of July 1954 at the age of 59 from an unknown reason whilst in the Mental Hospital.
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