CHAUVEL, Henry George
| Service Number: | Officer |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 4 August 1914, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Last Rank: | General |
| Last Unit: | 1st Light Horse Brigade HQ |
| Born: | Tabulam, New South Wales, Australia, 16 April 1865 |
| Home Town: | Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Sydney Grammar School, New South Wales, Australia and Toowoomba Grammar School, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation: | Soldier |
| Died: | Natural causes, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 March 1945, aged 79 years |
| Cemetery: |
Springvale Botanical Cemetery, Melbourne Grevillea, Garden 1, Bed A16, Rose 38 |
| Memorials: | Sydney Grammar School WW1 Honour Board, Toowoomba Grammar School South African Honour Roll, Toowoomba Grammar School WW1 Bravery Deeds, Toowoomba Grammar School WW1 Honour Board, Toowoomba Grammar School Wall of Achievement, Upper Clarence Light Horse Memorial |
Boer War Service
| 1 Oct 1899: | Involvement Captain, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Nov 1899: | Embarked Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Captain, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry, AWM Boer War Unit Details, Murray p. 448 notes 1st QMI embarked 1 Nov 1899 aboard Cornwall arriving Cape Town 13 Dec 1899. | |
| 23 Jan 1901: | Discharged Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Captain, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry, AWM Boer War Unit Details, Murray p. 449 notes 1st QMI embarked 13 Dec 1900 returning to Australia aboard Orient arriving Brisbane 17 Jan 1901, disbanded 23 Jan 1901. | |
| 2 May 1902: | Involvement Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Lieutenant Colonel, Officer, 7th Battalion, Australian Commonwealth Horse | |
| 19 May 1902: | Embarked Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Lieutenant Colonel, 7th Battalion, Australian Commonwealth Horse, AWM Boer War Unit Details, Murray p. 530 notes 7th BACH embarked at Pinkenba 19 May 1902 aboard Custodian arriving Durban 22 Jun 1902 after peace had been declared. | |
| 9 Aug 1902: | Discharged Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Lieutenant Colonel, 7th Battalion, Australian Commonwealth Horse, AWM Boer War Unit Details, Murray p. 530 notes 7th BACH embarked at Durban 28 Jun 1902 aboard Manchester Merchant returning to Australia arriving Brisbane 2 Aug 1902, disbanded 9 Aug 1902. |
World War 1 Service
| 4 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Colonel, Melbourne, Victoria | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Oct 1914: | Involvement AIF WW1, Colonel, 1st Light Horse Brigade HQ, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '1' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Orvieto embarkation_ship_number: A3 public_note: '' | |
| 21 Oct 1914: | Embarked AIF WW1, Colonel, 1st Light Horse Brigade HQ, HMAT Orvieto, Melbourne | |
| 12 May 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Colonel, 1st Light Horse Brigade HQ, ANZAC / Gallipoli | |
| 9 Dec 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Lieutenant General, 1st Light Horse Brigade HQ |
World War 2 Service
| 4 Mar 1945: | Discharged Australian Army (Post WW2), General, Chauvel remained with the VDC, based at Victoria Barracks, Melbourne but constantly travelling on inspections until his death on 4 March 1945. |
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"Sir Henry George (Harry) Chauvel (1865-1945), soldier, was born on 16 April 1865 at Tabulam, New South Wales, second son of Charles Henry Edward Chauvel, grazier and cattle-breeder, and his wife Fanny Ada Mary, née James. Chauvel was educated at Sydney Grammar School but had a final year at Toowoomba Grammar before taking his place on his father's cattle-station on the Clarence River. He learned to manage a property, and became a most accomplished horseman.
His ambition was to follow family tradition and join the British Army, there being little scope in the diminutive colonial forces, but his father's losses from drought made Sandhurst and the cavalry impossible. In 1885, when the volunteer movement was reviving, C. H. E. Chauvel raised the Upper Clarence Light Horse in which his son was commissioned next year. In 1888 the family moved to the Darling Downs in Queensland. Harry Chauvel was compelled to resign from the New South Wales forces, but he was commissioned in the Queensland Mounted Infantry in 1890. He had been managing Canning Downs South for three years when in 1896 he obtained an appointment in the Queensland Permanent Military Forces as a captain and adjutant of the Moreton Regiment. He went to England with the Queensland Jubilee Contingent in 1897, staying on for a year for courses and attachments to regular infantry.
Chauvel served with distinction in the South African War as a major in the 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry, taking part in the relief of Kimberley, the advance to Pretoria and the battle of Diamond Hill. At the crossing of the Vet River he personally captured a troublesome machine-gun. For a time he led a mixed force, known as Chauvel's Mounted Infantry, in operations in eastern Transvaal. Returning to Australia in 1901 he took command of the 7th Australian Commonwealth Horse as lieutenant-colonel, but the war ended before he reached Durban. For his services in South Africa, Chauvel was appointed C.M.G. and mentioned in dispatches; he was also given the brevet of lieutenant-colonel..." - READ MORE LINK (adb.anu.edu.au)
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