UNDERWOOD, Harold Wilfred
| Service Number: | 1373 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 October 1915, Enlisted at Brisbane, QLD |
| Last Rank: | Trooper |
| Last Unit: | 3rd Light Horse Regiment |
| Born: | Queensland, Australia, 13 October 1898 |
| Home Town: | Mount Gravatt, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Butcher |
| Died: | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 14 October 1946, aged 48 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Hemmant Cemetery and Crematorium, Brisbane, Queensland Monumental area C, Row 1, Grave 38. Interred on 15 October 1946 |
| Memorials: | Annerley Stephens Shire Council Residents Honour Board 2, Holland Park Mount Gravatt Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Oct 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1373, 11th Light Horse Regiment, Enlisted at Brisbane, QLD | |
|---|---|---|
| 30 Nov 1915: | Involvement Private, 1373, 11th Light Horse Regiment, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '3' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Suffolk embarkation_ship_number: A23 public_note: '' | |
| 30 Nov 1915: | Embarked Private, 1373, 11th Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Suffolk, Sydney | |
| 4 Apr 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Trooper, 3rd Light Horse Regiment | |
| 9 Oct 1916: | Discharged AIF WW1, Trooper, 1373, 3rd Light Horse Regiment, Discharged at the 1st Military District due to flat feet |
Help us honour Harold Wilfred Underwood's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Carol Foster
Son of Arthur Wilfred Underwood and Mary Adelaide Underwood nee Chadwick of Creek Road, Mount Gravatt, QLD. Brother of Arthur Hubert Underwood who returned to Australia on 20 August 1919 having served with the 2nd Machine Gun Battalion
Commenced return to Australia on 15 August 1916 aboard HT Borda arriving in Melbourne approximately 16 September 1916 for onward travel to Brisbane.
Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal
On 2 November 1929 Harold married Marjory Edna Shaw McNulty in QLD
Biography contributed by Ian Lang
Harold Underwood was just 18 when he presented himself for enlistment on 20th October 1915. Like his older brother Arthur he provided written permission from his parents. He also advised that he attempted to enlist on a previous occasion but was found to be under age.
Harold was an apprentice butcher working for H. Hornet of Stones Corner. He gave his mother as next of kin and her address as Creek Road Mt Gravatt.
Upon enlistment Harold was drafted as a reinforcement for the 11th Light Horse and embarked for Egypt. Soon after arrival in Egypt he reported sick to hospital with influenza. In May 1916 he was back in hospital with flat feet.
The news from Gallipoli in 1915 had brought a flood of recruits into enlistment depots in Australia (Harold was one of them). In spite of the doubling of the size of the AIF in early 1916, the authorities were in a position to be selective about recruits. Therefore, when Arthur presented with flat feet (for which there is no cure) the decision was made to discharge him as unfit. This must have come as a big disappointment to a young man who was so keen to fight that he had tried to enlist underage. Harold embarked for Australia in August 1916 and was discharged in Brisbane on 8th October 1916. He had been in the army for less than a year.
Click images to start slideshow.