HARDWICK, Richard Knox
| Service Numbers: | 402, VX151550 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 14 July 1945 |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | Z Special Unit |
| Born: | Ashton upon Mersey, England, 4 November 1880 |
| Home Town: | Charters Towers, Charters Towers, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Public School England |
| Occupation: | Agriculture Advisor |
| Memorials: |
Boer War Service
| 1 Oct 1899: | Involvement Private, 402, 5th Queensland Imperial Bushmen | |
|---|---|---|
| 6 Mar 1901: | Embarked Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 402, 5th Queensland Imperial Bushmen, AWM Boer War Unit Details, Murray p. 488 notes 5th QIB embarked at Pinkenba 6 Mar 1901 aboard Templemore arriving Port Elizabeth 1 Apr 1901. | |
| 5 May 1902: | Discharged Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 402, 5th Queensland Imperial Bushmen, AWM Boer War Unit Details, Murray p. 491 notes 5th QIB embarked at Cape Town 27 Mar 1902 aboard St Andrew returning to Australia arriving Brisbane 30 Apr 1902, disbanded 5 May 1902. |
World War 2 Service
| 14 Jul 1945: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lieutenant, VX151550, Z Special Unit | |
|---|---|---|
| 17 Oct 1945: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lieutenant, VX151550, Z Special Unit |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Claude McKelvey
Served in both the South African (Boer) war and WW2. First service was as a Private S.N. 402, 5th Queensland Imperial Bushmen, Boer War. Second service was as a Lieutenant/Temporary Major S.N. VX151550, Z Special Unit AIF, WW2.
When Richard Knox Hardwick enlisted in 1901 in the 5th QIB and his details were published with the rank and file in The Queenslander, 16 Mar 1901, he noted his N.O.K. as his mother Mrs. Hardwick, Park Gate, Timperley, Manchester, England. In the Boer War Service Paybooks for the 5th QIB, Bk 3 p. 69, it is noted his address post discharge was Charters Towers.
He enlisted again in 1945 at Morotai, Halmahera, for WW2. On his Attestation Paper, dated 7 May 1945, it is noted that; he was born on 4 Nov 1880 at Ashton-on-Mersey, Cheshire, England, and was 64 years 6 months of age, he was a widower and an advisor in tropical agriculture; he was residing at Singapore; his N.O.K. was his daughter June Hardwick, London; he had previously served in the 5th QIB in the Boer War; and at the time of enlisting he was currently serving with Royal Netherlands Forces.
Part of the following has been extracted from a family history posting by his youngest daughter, Elizabeth (Dolly) Hardwick, in 2009 on the Ancient Faces website. It appears her father Richard emigrated to Australia as a young man, not long before enlisting for the Boer war. On his return he resided in northern Queensland before relocating to Borneo (Sabah, Malaysia). He was working as an estate manager in North Borneo in the 1920s when he married and went on to have 3 children. Its assumed estate manager was equivalent to plantation manager.
He took his eldest child, June Hardwick, at the age to 9 to England prior to WW2 where she remained, presumably with relatives, before returning to his family in Malaysia. It appears he was involved in the WW2 war efforts serving with Royal Netherlands forces before enlisting with Australian forces. He was discharged in Oct 1945 and his service record indicates he returned to Singapore where in 1946 he was working with the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank.
(source- AWM Boer War Nominal Roll, Murray p. 502; Qld State Archives- Boer War Service Paybooks 5th QIB, Bk 3 p. 69; National Archives Australia- WW2 service records).
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