GITTINS, Stephen
| Service Number: | 6585 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 28th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Perth, Western Australia, 1895 |
| Home Town: | Queens Park, Canning, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 11 August 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Kalamunda District Roll of Honour, Kelmscott War Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 29 Jan 1917: | Involvement Private, 6585, 28th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '16' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Miltiades embarkation_ship_number: A28 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 29 Jan 1917: | Embarked Private, 6585, 28th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Miltiades, Fremantle |
Help us honour Stephen Gittins's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Geoffrey Gillon
A Stephen Gittins of the 7th Training Battalion spent some time, 28 Mar - 7 Oct 1917 at Rollestone, England.
At various times the 5th, 6th, and 7th Training Battalions associated with the 2nd Division were located at Rollestone. Also the 4th, 12th and 13th Training Battalions associated with the 4th Division were also based here.
The military camp is 2.9 km to the northeast of the township on the B3086 from Shrewton to Larkhill.
Military usage of land to the northeast of Rollestone began in the early 20th century, as artillery firing ranges which were later used by the Royal School of Artillery at Larkhill Camp. Rollestone Camp was established in 1916 by the Royal Flying Corps for observation balloon training. Around this time the Amesbury and Military Camp Light Railway was extended from Larkhill to Rollestone and beyond; this extension remained in use until about 1923. Balloon-related usage of Rollestone Camp continued until 1939 when the site became a Royal Air Force Anti-Gas School, which closed in 1945. For several months in 1980–81 the camp was used as a temporary prison (HMP Rollestone Camp) during industrial action by prison officers. The camp continues in use as part of the Salisbury Plain Training Area.
During WW1 a Military Light Railway connected Larkhill to the London and South-western Railway spur, at Amesbury Station, crossed the Packway and terminated at Rolleston Camp, with a spur to the site of the original Fargo ammunition dump. The course of the light railway’s permanent way, though pulled up in 1935, can be traced by a line of apple trees that, it is said, have grown from the seeds of apples thrown out by troops on passing trains.