ROYAL, Horace
| Service Number: | 7759 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 28 July 1917, Townsville, Qld. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1) |
| Born: | Charters Towers, Queensland. Australia, 24 January 1888 |
| Home Town: | Wolfram, Tablelands, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Assistant Electrician. |
| Died: | Pneumonia, Aplastic anaemia, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 7 April 1961, aged 73 years |
| Cemetery: |
Mount Thompson Memorial Gardens & Crematorium, Queensland |
| Memorials: | Babinda War Memorial, Bowen Presbyterian Church Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 28 Jul 1917: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 7759, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), Townsville, Qld. | |
|---|---|---|
| 31 Oct 1917: | Involvement Private, 7759, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Euripides embarkation_ship_number: A14 public_note: '' | |
| 31 Oct 1917: | Embarked Private, 7759, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), HMAT Euripides, Sydney |
Help us honour Horace Royal's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
Son of T D Royal, Wolfram Camp, Cairns, Queensland
Biography contributed by Arlene` White
Horace married Elizabeth Francis Matthews on 1st January 1916 at the Methodist Church, Cairns. Elizabeth was the eldest daughter of Edward Hugh Matthews and his wife Fanny Penhallurick.
Horace enlisted in late November 1915 and again in early 1916, but was rejected both times due to being medically unfit. This could have been his height, as he was only 5' 2 1/2" tall. He was listed as a Bricklayer. His enlistment place for both of these was Cairns, Queensland.
Elizabeth died on 31st January 1917 at St Margaret's Hospital Cairns, from complications with the birth of their first child, (a stillborn).
Horace then enlisted for a third time in July 1916, this time being accepted into the 15th Battalion. His enlistment place was Charters Towers, Queensland and his occupation as listed as Electrician Assistant. He sailed on the same ship as his brother-in-law Edward Ashby Matthews, the HMAT 'Euripides'. arriving in England on the 30th of December 1917.
Horace arrived home in Australia early in 1919 after spending some months in hospital. He suffered from many illnesses, including Pneumonia and Trench Fever.
Horace married a second time to Ethel May Medland on the 21st of March 1936 in Brisbane, Queensland. Ethel was the daughter of George Robert Medland and his wife Sarah Ann Betts. Ethel had a daughter prior to marrying Horace, Bessie May Medland. Horace officially adopted Bessie the same year they were married. Ethel died on the 4 February 1943 in Brisbane.
Horace married for a third time to widow Ethel Annie Swain, on the 25th May 1946 in Brisbane. Ethel had been married twice previously, first to Norman Evans 30th of April 1917, and second to Joesph Swain on the 21st of October 1931.
Horace lived in Brisbane until his death in 1961. Horace died at the Greenslopes Repatriation Hospital on the 7th of April 1961. His cause of death was listed as Pneumonia and Aplastic Anaemia. Horace was cremated on the 8th of April at the Mount Thompson Crematorium and was interred into the 'Wall', on the 9th of April 1961.
Sources:
QLD-BDM-Horace Royal marriages: C128-Elizabeth Frances Matthews; B24207-Ethel May Medland; B7484-Ethel Annie Swain
Attestation Records - National Archives - Horace Royal Service no:7759
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