PHELPS, Harry
| Service Number: | 125 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 18 August 1914, Collingwood, Victoria |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 6th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Welland, near Upton-upon-Severn, Worcestershire, England, 1891 |
| Home Town: | Broadmeadows, Hume, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Hanley Castle Grammar School |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Gallipoli, Gallipoli, Dardanelles, Turkey, 7 August 1915 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Panel 27. , Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli Peninsula, Canakkale Province, Turkey |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Lone Pine Memorial to the Missing |
World War 1 Service
| 18 Aug 1914: | Enlisted Australian Army (Post WW2), Collingwood, Victoria | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Oct 1914: | Involvement Private, 125, 6th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '8' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Hororata embarkation_ship_number: A20 public_note: '' | |
| 19 Oct 1914: | Embarked Private, 125, 6th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Hororata, Melbourne |
Help us honour Harry Phelps's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Geoffrey Gillon
[Births Dec 1891 Phelps Harry Upton 6c 319]
Son of W.J.Phelps (Farmer and Churchwarden) of the Malthouse Farm, Welland., near Upton-on-Severn. Upton-upon-Severn (locally known as simply Upton) is a small town and civil parish in the Malvern Hills District of Worcestershire, England. Upton is situated on the west bank of the River Severn and is located 5 miles southeast of Malvern. The town has a distinctive tower and copper-clad cupola – known locally as the "Pepperpot" – the only surviving remnant of a former church.
He served for two years in the Territorial Mounted Infantry.
He sailed from London to Melbourne, Australia on 24th October 1911 on the P & O ship Wakool. Harry enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force at Collingwood, Victoria on 18th August 1914 when he gave his age as 22 years 10 months, his occupation as a farmer and his next of kin as his father, W.J. Phelps, Upton-on-Severn, Worcestershire, England.
On 19th October 1914, Harry sailed from Melbourne, Australia on the “Hororata”, presumably destined for Alexandria as the next entry on the sheet records Harry embarking at Alexandria, Egypt on 5th April 1915 to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, where he joined his unit at Gallipoli on 18th May 1915. He was posted missing on 7th August 1915 and was certified killed in action on that date following an army Court of Inquiry held on 24th April 1916.
The Upton-on-Severn News, 28th August 1915 reported Private Phelps’s death, who at the time was apparently foremost in the charge on Turkish trenches. He had been well known in Upton prior to going to Australia four years before. He had been educated at Hanley Castle Grammar School and had been for some years a member of the Upton Football Club. He had joined the 1st Australian Division before going to Egypt with the first contingent. The sad news had been communicated to the Upton news by Lance Corporal R S Dutton, “a chum of a brave fellow.”
He is one of two Australian casualties of the Great War who are remembered on the Upton-on -Severn War Memorials as follows:
Welland War Memorial/ Welland Roll of Honour as Private 16th Infantry A.I.F.
Upton-on-Severn St Peter and St Paul's Church.
Upton-on-Severn Memorial Hall as a Trooper.
Hanley Castle Grammar School now Hanley Castle High School WW1 Memorial.
Worcester/Worcestershire Roll of Honour Book for army casualties located in Worcester Cathedral under Welland casualties.
There are memorials to the men from Upton-upon-Severn who fell in both wars on plaques in the memorial hall and also in the church of Saints Peter & Paul.
There are four brass panels on the outside wall at the front of Memorial Hall and two wooden boards within the church. The men are listed by name and initial in the memorial hall but by full name in the church.