BUCKERIDGE, Horace
| Service Numbers: | 3591, 3591A |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 19 April 1917, Perth, Western Australia |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 44th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Staines, Middlesex, England, 26 January 1869 |
| Home Town: | Merredin, Merredin, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Calne Bentley Grammar School, Wiltshire, England |
| Occupation: | Storekeeper |
| Died: | Natural causes, Albany, Western Australia, 12 November 1937, aged 68 years |
| Cemetery: |
Albany Public Cemetery (Old) / Memorial Park Cemetery (WA) |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 19 Apr 1917: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3591, Perth, Western Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 24 Jul 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 3591, 44th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Albany embarkation_ship: HMAT Port Melbourne embarkation_ship_number: A16 public_note: '' | |
| 24 Jul 1917: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 3591, 44th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Port Melbourne, Albany | |
| 24 Apr 1918: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 3591A, 44th Infantry Battalion, Villers-Bretonneux, GSW (right eye) | |
| 14 Oct 1918: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 3591A, 44th Infantry Battalion |
Help us honour Horace Buckeridge's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by John Edwards
"Returned from the Front. PTE. H. BUCKERIDGE
As stated in the issue of the POST last week, Private H. Buckeridge, formerly of the local Post Office, had returned from the Front, and visited the town prior to receiving his discharge from the A.I.F., after having served in France from early in 1917. Mr Buckeridge, even after his experiences in France did not leave all his troubles behind him, for on the way out on the "Barunga," he had the doubtful pleasure of being torpedoed in the English Channel. Pte Buckeridge when spoken to regarding the matter, stated that about 5 o'clock in the afternoon, they were torpedoed, and the vessel was soon on its way to the bottom, there was little time to lose, and with some 900 to 1000 men on board, it meant a serious problem to get the soldiers off in time. However, owing to the gallantry of many of the good swimmers who dived in the water, room was found in the boats for the remainder, and all were transferred to destroyers, which quickly carried their passengers
back to Plymouth. There were four ladies aboard the vessel when torpedoed, but all were safely stowed away on the fast destroyers. After remaining in Plymouth for about three weeks, he and his companions joined another vessel, bound for Australia, and arrived this time, after practically an uneventful voyage.
Mr Buckeridge saw many of the Bruce Rock boys in France, among which were Hugh Gamany, and Warrant Officer "Billy" Emms, and Mr Buckeridge was actually within 2 miles of his old friend "Ted" Herridge, formerly of the district. Mr Buckeridge finished up on the Somme Front, after having served in France and Belgium, his Battalion going in to meet the German Spring Offensive. The Australians on this occasion were the mobile force, acting as shock troops before Amiens, and this engagement was practically the end of that German Offensive, for it will be remembered that the Germans got no further. After Mr Buckeridge was in hospital, not exactly having too clear a knowledge of the matter in which he had been dealt with, he received a letter from a particular soldier friend who supplied all the information regarding a narrow escape from death. The writer states:
"In the morning, if you will remember, we had a little light stuff from Fritz, about mid-day it freshed up a little and we had a little heavier stuff, then in the early portion of the afternoon, we were visited by three tremendous shells, one to the right of us, one behind us, and the other on you (meaning Buckeridge), and owing to a piece of iron and some timber, you were given breathing space, until we got you out."
Apart from the shaking received, Mr Buckeridge is as well as can be expected." - from the Bruce Rock Post and Corrigin Guardian 18 Oct 1918
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