BETTS, Harold Haywood
| Service Number: | 222 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 36th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 5 April 1918, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Kentucky Public School Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 13 May 1916: | Involvement Private, 222, 36th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Beltana embarkation_ship_number: A72 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 13 May 1916: | Embarked Private, 222, 36th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Beltana, Sydney | |
| 5 Apr 1918: | Involvement Corporal, 222, 36th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 222 awm_unit: 36th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Corporal awm_died_date: 1918-04-05 |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
Harold Hayward BETTS, (Service Number 222) was born on 14 April 1894 at Terrible Vale, New South Wales. He commenced work with the NSW Railways in April 1912 and spent his whole career in the Murrurundi district as a gatekeeper, junior porter and then porter.
He was given leave to join the Expeditionary Forces on 14 February 1916. He left Sydney on HMAT ‘Beltana’ in May 1916 and reached France in November 1916. In June 1917 he was wounded in action and evacuated to England for treatment. He returned to France in December and was promoted to Temporary Corporal, detached from his unit to attend the Bomb School and given leave in England. He was recalled from leave in March 1918 after the large German attack at that time and was killed in action in France on 5 April 1918.
He was buried in Crucifix Corner British Cemetery, south-west of Villers-Bretonneux. The temporary cross marking his resting place for a time bore the wrong name of ‘Bates’. His family noted this error from photographs provided to them by the military authorities and requested that it be corrected on the permanent memorial.
(NAA B2455-3078606)
Submitted 11 May 2023 by John Oakes
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