BAMFORD, David Joseph
| Service Number: | 4075 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 8 July 1999, Melbourne, Vic. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 22nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Penshurst, Victoria, Australia, 1891 |
| Home Town: | Penshurst, Southern Grampians, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Hamilton, Victoria, Australia, 1939, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Boram Boram Cemetery, Penshurst, Victoria |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 7 Mar 1916: | Involvement Private, 4075, 22nd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '14' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Wiltshire embarkation_ship_number: A18 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Mar 1916: | Embarked Private, 4075, 22nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Wiltshire, Melbourne | |
| 8 Jul 1999: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 4075, 22nd Infantry Battalion, Melbourne, Vic. |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
Son of James BAMFORD, Penhurst, Victoria.
Anzac Who Lost Both Legs
Dies At Hamilton
PENSHURST, Friday. - Mr David Bamford, a native of Penshurst, died in the Hamilton Base Hospital on Thursday, at the age of 48. He served with the A.I.F. in the Great War, and was so badly wounded at Gallipoli that both legs had to be amputated.
Davey Bamford lied buried in an unmarked grave in Penshurst cemetery forgotten by most of the community. However today he will be declared a local hero as the towns holds its annual Anzac Day service remembering the sacrifices of Australians fighting wars in the distant fields.
David Joseph Bamford was a 24 year old labourer, the son of James Bamford, when he enlisted with the Australian Army. Leaving his Penshurst family, he headed off in March 1916 from Melbourne on the HMAS Wiltshire to join thousands of other Australian men to serve King and Country in World War One. Little is known of his war service with the 22nd infantry battalion except that he came back home with both legs blown off. Two of his brothers, Paddy and Jim, devoted the rest of their lives to caring for Davey and helping him make the most of his scarred life. One man who remembers the veteran is Arthur Cook, of Penshurst, who will unveil a drawing of the fogotten hero during an Anzac Day speech today. Davey represented the horros of the Great War, Mr Cook told the Standard. When I was a boy back in the 1930's, Davey Bamford was my hero. He would join the Anzac Day parades in his wheelchair which had steel rims and wooden spokes. We would sometimes sneak into the pub to watch him perched up on the bar. His brother would hoist him up. Everyone loved him. Mr Cook who has long wanted to highlight the Bambord war service, was recently shown some fading photographs found in the old family home. So I gave a photograph of Davey to Hamilton artist Achim Sperling who did a beautiful charcoal drawing.
Courtesy of James Affleck
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