TOWNE, Harold Victor
| Service Number: | 4613 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 14 September 1915, Warwick Farm, New South Wales |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 54th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Katoomba, New South Wales, Australia, February 1897 |
| Home Town: | Leura, Blue Mountains Municipality, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Leura Public School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Railway Porter |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Fromelles, France, 20 July 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
Anzac Cemetery, Sailly-sur-la-Lys Plot II. Row J. Grave 10. Inscription: DEARLY LOVED SON OF MR. & MRS. TOWNE OF LEURA AT REST |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Leura Memorial Gates |
World War 1 Service
| 14 Sep 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 4613, Depot Battalion (AIF), Warwick Farm, New South Wales | |
|---|---|---|
| 16 Dec 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 4613, 13th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Ballarat embarkation_ship_number: A70 public_note: '' | |
| 16 Dec 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 4613, 13th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ballarat, Sydney | |
| 22 Mar 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 4613, 13th Infantry Battalion, Disembarked, Egypt | |
| 1 Apr 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 54th Infantry Battalion, T.O.S. from 13th Infantry Battalion | |
| 19 Jun 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 4613, 54th Infantry Battalion, Embarked Alexandria for B.E.F per H.M.T. "Caledonian" | |
| 29 Jun 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 4613, 54th Infantry Battalion, Disembarked Marseilles, France | |
| 19 Jul 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 4613, 54th Infantry Battalion, Fromelles (Fleurbaix) | |
| 20 Jul 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 4613, 54th Infantry Battalion, Fromelles (Fleurbaix), Killed In Action | |
| 20 Jul 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 4613, 54th Infantry Battalion, Fromelles (Fleurbaix), --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 4613 awm_unit: 54th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1916-07-20 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by John Oakes
Harold Victor TOWNE (Service Number 4613) was born at Katoomba about February 1897. The 1915 NSWGR&T Annual Report shows a man of that name appointed as a gatekeeper on 27th July 1914 and the NSW Government Gazette shows him working as a junior porter at Katoomba on 31st December 1914.
Towne enlisted at Warwick Farm on 14th September 1915 and gave his mother, Mary Jane Towne living in ‘Holyrood’, Malvern Road, Leura, as his next of kin. He claimed 4½ years’ service in the Senior Cadets and two months in the Militia as military experience. At 18 years and 6 months old he was a young man keen to see war. He was llotted to the 14th Reinforcements to the 13th Battalion. He embarked HMAT ‘Ballarat’ at Sydney on 16th February 1916 and reached Egypt on 22nd March 1916. Here he was transferred to the 54th Battalion at Ferry Post on 1st April 1916. He embarked HMT ‘Caledonian’ at Alexandria for passage to join the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front in France through Marseilles, where he passed on 29th June 1916.
Towne was killed in action on the night of 19-20 July 1916 during the Battle of Fromelles. Unlike many of his comrades in that battle, his body was recovered and was buried, by Rev W M Holliday in the Anzac Cemetery, Sailly-sur-la-Lys, 2¼ miles ENE of Estaires, five miles SW of Armentières.
A pension of £1 per fortnight was awarded to his mother Mary Jane Towne from 7th October 1916.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.
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