RICHARD, Robert Henry
| Service Number: | Chaplain |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 8 September 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Captain (Chaplain 4th Class) |
| Last Unit: | Australian Army Chaplains' Department |
| Born: | Fishguart, Pembrokeshire, Wales, 19 February 1869 |
| Home Town: | Hobart, Tasmania |
| Schooling: | University of Wales - Trinity Saint David College |
| Occupation: | Church of England Clerk in Holy Orders |
| Died: | Glenorchy, Tasmania, 1 October 1929, aged 60 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Cornelian Bay Cemetery and Crematorium, Tasmania Independent Area, Section L, Grave 21 |
| Memorials: | Kentish Municipality Honour Roll Mural, Lindisfarne Officers of the 12th Battalion Pictorial Honour Roll, University of Tasmania |
World War 1 Service
| 8 Sep 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Captain (Chaplain 4th Class) , Chaplain, Australian Army Chaplains' Department | |
|---|---|---|
| 17 Sep 1914: | Embarked AIF WW1, Captain (Chaplain 4th Class) , Chaplain, Australian Army Chaplains' Department, Embarked on HMAT 'A2' Geelong from Melbourne on 17th September 1914, disembarking Egypt. | |
| 2 Mar 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Captain (Chaplain 4th Class) , Chaplain, Australian Army Chaplains' Department, Embarked on HMT Devanha to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force at Gallipoli. | |
| 12 May 1915: | Transferred AIF WW1, Captain (Chaplain 4th Class) , Australian Army Chaplains' Department, Joined 12th Infantry Battalion at Gallipoli on 12th May 1915, transferred back to Alexandria, Egypt for duty on 27th June 1915. | |
| 4 Dec 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Captain (Chaplain 4th Class) , Chaplain, Australian Army Chaplains' Department, Embarked on HMAT 'A32' Themistocles from Suez, Egypt on 4th December 1915 following the completion of twelve months service, disembarking Melbourne on 9th January 1916. | |
| 7 Mar 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Captain (Chaplain 4th Class) , Chaplain, Australian Army Chaplains' Department, Embarked on HMAT 'A18' Mongolia from Melbourne on 7th March 1916, disembarking Suez, Egypt on 10th April 1916. | |
| 7 Apr 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Captain (Chaplain 4th Class) , Australian Army Chaplains' Department, Detached to 14th Field Artillery Brigade as Chaplain. | |
| 14 Jun 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Captain (Chaplain 4th Class) , Australian Army Chaplains' Department, Detached to 13th Field Artillery Brigade as Chaplain. | |
| 16 Jun 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Captain (Chaplain 4th Class) , Chaplain, Australian Army Chaplains' Department, Embarked on HMT Tunisian from Alexandria, Egypt on 16th June 1916, disembarking MArseilles, France on 23rd June 1916. | |
| 10 Oct 1916: |
Transferred
AIF WW1, Captain (Chaplain 4th Class) , Australian Army Chaplains' Department, Transferred to A.I.F. Headquarters for hospital visitation duty in England. Promoted to Temporary Major (Chaplain 3rd Class AIF) on 8th September 1916. |
|
| 24 Aug 1918: | Embarked AIF WW1, Captain (Chaplain 4th Class) , Chaplain, Australian Army Chaplains' Department, Embarked for return to Australia due to the ill health of his wife on HMT Medic from England on 24th August 1918, disembarking Melbourne on 11th October 1918 enroute to Tasmania. | |
| 14 Dec 1918: | Discharged AIF WW1, Captain (Chaplain 4th Class) , Chaplain, Australian Army Chaplains' Department |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Sharyn Roberts
OBITUARY
Ven. Archdeacon Richard
Splendid Services
Widespread regret will be felt at the death, which took place at the Church of England rectory. Glenorchy, at 11.30 o'clock last night of the Ven. Archdeacon Robert Henry Richard; Archdeacon of Hobart. He had been in ill health for some time, and had been receiving medical attention. He was a native of Wales, being born at Fishguard, Pembrokeshire.
Archdeacon Richard held curacies in Newport, Liverpool, and Howden (Yorkshire), before coming to Tasmaniain 1904, at the invitation of Bishop Mercer, to become rector of New Norfolk.
His attainments brought him early recognition, for within two years he was appointed Diocesan Missioner and Rural Dean. His next promotion was as Archdeacon of Darwin, a widely scattered district, embracing the mining fields of the West Coast of Tasmania and rich agricultural country in the North-west, in conjunction with his office as Archdeacon he was rector of Zeehan (1911-18), rector at Queenstown (1919-21), and rector of Wynyard (1921-23). A man of wide human sympathy and understanding, Archdeacon Richard was Intensely popular among the mining men In the "Wild West." He was there when the terrible disaster occurred at the Mt. Lyell copper mine in 1912, in which many lives wore lost, and the heroic services he rendered earned special recognition.
When the Great War broke out in 1914. Archdeacon Richard was one of the first four chaplains appointed to accompany the Australian Imperial Force. He served In Egypt, on Gallipoli, in France, and at the Australian headquarters in Horseferry Road, London, and was one of Australia's most popular chaplains.
In 1923 he was appointed Archdeacon of Hobart, a position which he held at the time of his death. He has done valuable work in extending the influence and organisation of the church In suburb and districts, especially among the working class population of Moonah and Glenorchy.
Archdeacon Richard was a Welsh speaking Welshman, with an intense love for his native land, but he also loved the land of his adoptlon and was full of optimism as to its future. Having had 20 years' experience of Australia and Australians in times of peace and war, he was firmly of the opinion that the Australian is on an equality with the manhood of any other country.
The Mercury Wednesday 02 October 1929 page 8
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