27131
GOLDNEY, Reginald John
| Service Numbers: | 997, 2287 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 27th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Erith, South Australia, 29 May 1888 |
| Home Town: | Balaklava, Wakefield, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Apprentice motor mechanic |
| Died: | Adelaide, South Australia, 26 July 1945, aged 57 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
AIF Cemetery, West Terrace Cemetery, Adelaide, South Australia Section: KO, Road: 23, Site No: 3 |
| Memorials: | Salisbury & District Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 21 Sep 1915: | Involvement Private, 997, 27th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Star of England embarkation_ship_number: A15 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Sep 1915: | Involvement Private, 997, 11th Light Horse Regiment, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '3' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Star of England embarkation_ship_number: A15 public_note: '' | |
| 21 Sep 1915: | Embarked Private, 997, 27th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Star of England, Adelaide | |
| 21 Sep 1915: | Embarked Private, 997, 11th Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Star of England, Adelaide | |
| 11 Nov 1918: | Involvement Private, 2287, 27th Infantry Battalion |
Help us honour Reginald John Goldney's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Kate Hubmayer
Reg was a son of Henry and Isabella Goldney who lived on a farm on the Gawler River. He was the 3rd of 10 children. His grandfather Henry Fonteroy Goldney emigrated from England to South Australia aboard the ship Fairlie in 1840, established the farm on the Gawler River and married Mary Ann Duke, who was also from England.
He seems to have been a larrikin, getting into minor trouble with the law in Australia and while he was serving in the military.
A newspaper article about him in 1915 is titled "Witty Cabbie charged with not tending to his cab." He was let off in this instance.
He served in England and France during WWI, was wounded in action in France in June 1915. He was reprimanded multiple times for being insolent on parade, drunkeness, possession of forged documents and more. Two of his brothers died in 1916, one at home and one (Arthur) in France while serving his country. Reg fled the war as a stowaway on a ship back to Australia in August 1919.
He worked in a bicycle shop in Adelaide, and in 1920 he and two mates were charged and convicted of stealing bikes, painting them and selling them. He confessed to his crime after being caught by a plain clothes police officer.
In later years he worked as a knife and scissor sharpener. He travelled the streets of Adelaide for years with a hand cart holding his equipment, and a newspaper report regarding his death stated he was "one of Adelaide's best known identities".
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