PURVIS, Henry James
| Service Number: | 5184 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 17 January 1916, Adelaide, South Australia |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 10th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Port Adelaide, South Australia, July 1890 |
| Home Town: | Port Adelaide, Port Adelaide Enfield, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Hairdresser, tobacconist |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Polygon Wood, Belgium, 20 September 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
Tyne Cot Cemetery and Memorial Plot XL, Row H, Grave No. I, Tyne Cot Cemetery, Passchendaele, Flanders, Belgium, Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Kadina & District WW1 Roll of Honor, Kadina War Memorial Arch, Mount Gambier Knight & Cleve Pictorial Honour Rolls |
World War 1 Service
| 17 Jan 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 5184, 10th Infantry Battalion, Adelaide, South Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 25 Mar 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 5184, 10th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1 | |
| 25 Mar 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 5184, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Shropshire, Adelaide | |
| 11 May 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 5184, 10th Infantry Battalion, Bullecourt (Second), Taken on strength 18 Jan 17 | |
| 15 May 1917: | Honoured Military Medal, Bullecourt (Second), RO No. 46 by By order General Birdwood | |
| 30 Jul 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 5184, 10th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres | |
| 20 Sep 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Corporal, 5184, 10th Infantry Battalion, Menin Road, :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_full_name: Purvis, Henry James awm_place_of_association: Port Adelaide awm_died_date: 1917-09-20 awm_place_died: Belgium awm_died_cause: Killed in action awm_cemetery: Tyne Cot Cemetery--- cwgc_import: casualty: '464348' surname: Purvis forenames: Henry James initials: H J service_no: '5184' date_of_death: '1917-09-20 00:00:00.000' date_of_death2: age: '27' additional_information: Son of Henry and Margaret Purvis, of Mount Gambier, South |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Robert Kearney
Mr. H. Purvis, of Mount Gambier west, received word last week from the military authorities "that his son, Pte. Harry J. Purvis, had been killed in action on the western front.
Born at Port Adelaide 21 years ago the deceased was educated at the Christian Brothers' College, Adelaide, and with his father went to Mount Gambler while still a lad. He was apprenticed to Messrs. L. W. Free & Co., tobacconists, and after serving his time with this firm went to Gladstone, and subsequently to Kadina, at both of which centres he had charge of tobacconist businesses.
Young Purvis enlisted in January, 1916, and went to the front in March of the same year with the 16th Reinforcements of the 10th Battalion. After service in Egypt he applied for and was granted a transfer to France.
He served in the trenches there from December last until September 20, the date of his death. In the "push" against the enemy shortly after Easter be won the Military Medal for meritorious conduct, and another engagement in which he participated was the famous fight at Bullecourt.
The deceased was well known at Mount Gambler, where he came into prominence in sporting circles as a cyclist and coursing enthusiast. He was one of the team engaged in the Dunlop relay race, from Adelaide to Sydney, in April, 1909.
BIOGRAPHICAL. (1917, October 27). Observer (Adelaide, SA : 1905 - 1931), p. 34. Retrieved March 17, 2018, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article164139047
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