S5962
HOUSTON, Roy Sylvin
| Service Numbers: | 2679, S67442 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 5 April 1942 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 1st (SA) Battalion Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC) |
| Born: | Mclaren Vale, SA, 19 August 1895 |
| Home Town: | Cowandilla, City of West Torrens, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | labourer |
| Died: | 10 February 1981, aged 85 years, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Centennial Park Cemetery, South Australia |
| Memorials: | Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, Dublin WW1 & WW2 Roll of Honor, Dublin War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 23 Oct 1916: | Embarked Private, 2679, 50th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Port Melbourne, Adelaide | |
|---|---|---|
| 23 Oct 1916: | Involvement Private, 2679, 50th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '19' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Port Melbourne embarkation_ship_number: A16 public_note: '' |
World War 2 Service
| 5 Apr 1942: | Involvement Private, S67442, 1st (SA) Battalion Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC) | |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Apr 1942: | Enlisted Adelaide, SA | |
| 5 Apr 1942: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, S67442 | |
| 15 Oct 1945: | Discharged |
World War 1 Service
| Date unknown: | Wounded 2679, 50th Infantry Battalion |
|---|
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Roy Sylvin Houston was born in McLaren Vale on 19 August 1895 and enlisted on 24 February 1916 with Regimental Number 2679. He left Australia on 23 October 1916 arriving in the UK on 28 December 1916 and subsequently posted to 50th Australian Infantry Battalion[i] in France on 18 March 1917.
During the 4th Division Battle for Noreuil (Bullecourt, France) on 2 April 1917 the battalion took 360 casualties including 100 killed or died of wounds, 169 wounded and 91 missing. Of the missing an estimated 29 had been killed and 62 taken prisoner. Roy Houston was one of those taken prisoner. He endured captivity in Gef Limburg then Heilsberg where he wrote, in an extract from a letter dated 2/ 12/ 1917, “I find the climate very cold but am keeping in fairly good health”. In a subsequent postcard dated 14/4/1918 he says “Would like you to send me a size larger in boots, have had frost bitten feet and cannot wear tight boots”. Roy was repatriated and arrived in London on 12/12/1918 and finally discharged in Adelaide on 22/6/1919 after 3 years and 119 days total service including 2 years and 236 days abroad including his time as a POW.
Roy was very lucky to experience little physical problems except cold feet after the war and was married to Margaret Rennie Thomson in March 1925 and they had four children, two boys and two girls all born in Warraweena Hospital, Mile End. Roy was a member of the SA AIF Cricket Team 1914-18 War playing after World War 2.
[i] The 50th Battalion was formed when the 10th Battalion was split after the evacuation from Gallipoli.
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