RICHMOND, James
| Service Number: | 1833 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 9th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Scotland, 27 February 1879 |
| Home Town: | Broken Hill, Broken Hill Municipality, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Comely Park Public School, Falkirk, Scotland |
| Occupation: | Miner |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 23 July 1916, aged 37 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 8 Apr 1915: | Involvement Private, 1833, 9th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Star of England embarkation_ship_number: A15 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Apr 1915: | Embarked Private, 1833, 9th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Star of England, Brisbane |
James Pettigrew Richmond - timeline
1879 27th February
James Pettigrew Richmond was born at 38 Bell Street, Airdrie.
1881 Census
James age two was living at Corunna, Falkirk with his parents James and Marion and his brother John who was three. James Richmond senior was a brewery labourer.
1891 Census
James age 12 was living at Maggieletts Loan, Blinkbonny, Falkirk with his parents and siblings Alexander nine, Lizzie seven, John five and Mary two.
1897 – 1898
James age 18 enlists in the Royal Fife Artillery. He serves for one year.
1899
James age 19 immigrates to Australia.
1915 4th January
James enlists in the Australian Infantry Force. On his enlistment papers he states his age as 33 and 11 months. He was in fact 36 and 11 months. He is described as 5ft 8 inches tall and weighed 11 stone and10 lbs. His chest measurement was 36-38 ½ inches. He had a fair complexion, blue eyes and brown hair.
1915 26th May
James joins his unit the 4th Reinforcements of the 9th Battalion Australian Infantry Force.
1915 27th August
James is wounded in action and is admitted to the 1st Australian Casualty Clearing Station at Alexandria, Egypt. He was transferred to the ‘Hospital Ship Matheuo’ in Mudros Greece. He sustained shrapnel wound in his back.
1915 30th August
James is transferred to the ‘Hospital Ship Huntsgreen’, the ship sets sail for England.
1915 16th September
James is admitted to King George Hospital, Stamford Street, London with a gunshot wound to the back (lumber). He stays in hospital for 47 days.
1916 7th March
James embarks Hospital Ship Kingstonian in England and disembarks at Alexandria.
1916 11th March
James rejoins his Battalion sailing from Alexandria to Marseilles on ‘Saxonia’.
1916 29th July
James is reported missing.
1917 2nd July
A Court of Enquiry officially finds that James was killed in action in France on 29th July 1916.
Extract from a letter written on 28th February 1920 by James’s sister Margaret (Meg) who was seven when James left for Australia.
“I can’t say much about Jim as he was away in Australia for 17 years about, and I was so young when he went away. A chum writing me from France after he was killed said, he was well liked by all, and his mining experiences made him a useful man in the trenches.”
Submitted 1 April 2026 by Maureen McIntyre
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