FORREST, Arthur Walter
| Service Number: | 8840 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 2 August 1915, Liverpool, Sydney, NSW, aged 18 |
| Last Rank: | Bombardier |
| Last Unit: | 2nd Division Artillery |
| Born: | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 11 October 1897 |
| Home Town: | Epping, Parramatta, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Butcher |
| Died: | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia , 1944, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 2 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Driver, 8840, 2nd Divisional Ammunition Column, Liverpool, Sydney, NSW, aged 18 | |
|---|---|---|
| 16 Nov 1915: | Involvement Driver, 8840, 2nd Divisional Ammunition Column, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '22' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Port Macquarie embarkation_ship_number: A39 public_note: '' | |
| 16 Nov 1915: | Embarked Driver, 8840, 2nd Divisional Ammunition Column, HMAT Port Macquarie, Melbourne | |
| 11 Mar 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Bombardier, 2nd Division Artillery, 104th Howitzer Battery, 4th Field Artillery Brigade | |
| 3 May 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Bombardier, 8840, 2nd Division Artillery, Bullecourt (Second) | |
| 20 Sep 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Bombardier, 8840, 2nd Division Artillery, Third Ypres | |
| 1 Oct 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Bombardier, 8840, 2nd Division Artillery, Broodseinde Ridge | |
| 11 Nov 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Bombardier, 8840, 2nd Division Artillery, Third Ypres, Gassed and sent to England for 5 months treatment | |
| 4 Apr 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Bombardier, 8840, 2nd Division Artillery, German Spring Offensive 1918 | |
| 4 Jul 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Bombardier, 8840, 2nd Division Artillery, Le Hamel - Blueprint for Victory | |
| 8 Aug 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Bombardier, 8840, 2nd Division Artillery, "The Last Hundred Days" | |
| 1 Sep 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Bombardier, 8840, 2nd Division Artillery, Mont St Quentin / Peronne | |
| 4 Aug 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Bombardier, 8840, 2nd Division Artillery |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stuart Walkley
Great uncle Arthur Walter Forrest was a Butcher in Sydney, and enlisted in the 1st AIF in July 1915 at age 18. He left Melbourne on the HMAT Port Macquarie in November 1915, and arrived in Egypt in December. He was originally assigned as a driver for the Ammunition Column in the 2nd Division, then transferred to the 104th Howitzer Battery in the 4th Field Artillery Brigade attached to the 2nd Division in March 1916. He spent almost a year in Egypt, training and then promoted to rank of Bombardier. He arrived in France in December 1916. The 2nd Division’s artillery saw unrelenting action in France, with 58% of Australian gunners killed or wounded during the war. He was gassed in November 1917 and required 5 months recovery in England. He returned to his unit in France in April 1918 until the end of the war. During this time he defended against the German Spring Offensive, was part of the Battle of Hamel under General John Monash, and part of the Hundred Days Offensive that broke the German lines at the Battle of Saint Quentin.
After the end of the war he transferred for training in the Corp Signal School, starting in mid November 1918 and completed in late January 1919. He was then part of a Training Brigade in England and France until he left for Australian on 27 April 1919. He arrived in Sydney on 11 June 1919, and married in 1921.
Awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, and Victory Medal.
Arthur was mobilised on 5 January 1942 at age 45, 4 weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbour. He was assigned to the 11th Garrison Battalion, which was responsible for general internal security in NSW. He was injured while on duty in late February, spent several months in and out of hospital, and was discharged as medically unfit in July 1942. He died in January 1944 at just 47.