Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Archibald Oswald Rohde was born on 3 March 1885 in Gympie, Queensland. He enlisted in the A.I.F. on 17 August 1917, aged 32 and served with the 19th Australian Depot Supply Unit in France.

Archibald Oswald Rodhe was born on 3 March 1885 in Gympie, Queensland. He married Violet Purdy Rohde (1890 – 1956) on 13 February 1914. Prior to enlistment, Archie worked as an Indent Agent.

His route to the war was a convoluted one. He enlisted with 22nd Battalion at Broadmeadows, Victoria and was then transferred to the 20th Reinforcements/ 23rd Battalion. However, he would never see infantry service. He is listed on the embarkation roll of 2nd General (Victorian) Reinforcements. He embarked from Sydney aboard HMAT A14 Euripides on 1 May 1918. In New York, on 14 June 1918 he changed ship to HMT Teutonic, which arrived in Liverpool on 2 July 1918. Upon arrival in England, he was allotted to the reinforcements for 22nd Battalion. On 19 August 1918 he was promoted Acting Corporal and sent to the School of Instruction at Candahar Barracks in Tidworth. Here he contracted measles and was admitted to the Military Hospital in Fovant to recover. He was discharged from the hospital on 22 October 1918 and was in the Training Depot when the Armistice was signed on 11 November. He finally proceeded to France on 28 January 1919. He was Taken on Strength (T.O.S.) with the 19th Australian Depot Supply Unit (for which he appears as one of 38 names to the unit on the Nominal Roll) on 4 February 1919. Depots of Supply were '3rd Line' logistics supply units that handled the supplies excluding ammunition. Their task was to receive, account for, store and distribute combat and general supplies to the Corps and Division Administrative and Maintenance Areas, from where the Division Trains and Supply Columns would take over and deliver to the frontline units.

Archie was promoted to Temporary-Corporal on 8 February. He stayed in France until 6 June 1919, when he returned to England. He returned to Australia aboard HMAT Argyllshire on 1 August 1919, disembarking on 22 September 1919, where he was discharged in Sydney.

Since he arrived in France after the Armistice, his only medal entitlement was the British War Medal.

Post-war, he became a cane farmer in Gympie. At age 57, he enlisted again during the Second World War and was T.O.S. with 12th Battalion VDC on 3 May 1942 as Q209547 with the rank of Private. The Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC) was an Australian part-time volunteer military force modelled on the British Home Guard. The VDC was established in July 1940 by the Returned and Services League of Australia (R.S.L.) and was initially composed of veterans who had served in the First World War.

On 20 February 1943, he was promoted to Company Quartermaster Sergeant (CQMS). He was placed on Reserve on 31 July 1944 and discharged on 31 October 1945 on the disbandment of the VDC Corps.

Archibald Rohde died on 8 January 1970.