HARROP, Rupert Marshall
| Service Number: | 1109 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 8 March 1915, An original member of D Company |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 23rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Kerang, Victoria, Australia, 1892 |
| Home Town: | Ballarat, Central Highlands, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Killed in action, Belgium, 3 October 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
Birr Cross Roads Cemetery Plot I, Row E, Grave No. 9. TILL THE DAY BREAKS AND SHADOWS FLEE AWAY SADLY MISSED "MOTHER" |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Bealiba Memorial Gate Posts |
World War 1 Service
| 8 Mar 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1109, 23rd Infantry Battalion, An original member of D Company | |
|---|---|---|
| 10 May 1915: | Involvement Private, 1109, 23rd Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '14' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Euripides embarkation_ship_number: A14 public_note: '' | |
| 10 May 1915: | Embarked Private, 1109, 23rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Euripides, Melbourne |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Rupert Marshall Harrop was the eldest son of Charles and Henrietta Harrop. His father, Charles had deserted the family in around 1908. His mother Henrietta, raised five children at Mount Egerton, southeast of Ballarat.
Rupert and his brother Charles enlisted on the same day in March 1915 and left Australia together as original members of the 23rd Battalion AIF. They both landed on Gallipoli when the 23rd Battalion landed there during August 1915.
The two brothers survived the Gallipoli campaign although Charles was wounded. During the heavy fighting at Pozieres in France, 1098 Pte. Charles Herbert Harrop 23rd Battalion AIF was killed in action by shellfire on 28 July 1916, aged 22.
Rupert was wounded at Bullecourt on 3 May 1917 and evacuated to England. He rejoined the 23rd Battalion at the end of July 1917. During the heavy fighting at Passchendaele on 3 October 1917, he was seen to be mortally wounded by a shell near Anzac House, a German fortification. Although he was carried to a dressing station he died soon after.
Another brother, 3339 Pte. James Gordon Harrop 5th Machine Gun Battalion AIF, was in 1918 awarded a Distinguished Conduct Medal for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in operating his machine guns.