WHITEHAIR, Austin Bede
| Service Number: | 6689 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 14 December 1915, Sydney, NSW |
| Last Rank: | Sapper |
| Last Unit: | 7th Field Company Engineers |
| Born: | Surry Hills, Sydney, NSW, 1888 |
| Home Town: | Waverley, Waverley, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Sacred Heart School Darlinghurst |
| Occupation: | Compositor Sydney Morning Herald |
| Died: | 2 March 1963, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
South Head General Cemetery, Vaucluse, New South Wales S-H-GE-12A |
| Memorials: | Sydney Morning Herald and Sydney Mail Record of War Service |
World War 1 Service
| 14 Dec 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Sapper, 6689, 7th Field Company Engineers, Sydney, NSW | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Mar 1916: | Involvement Sapper, 6689, 7th Field Company Engineers, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '5' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Orsova embarkation_ship_number: A67 public_note: '' | |
| 11 Mar 1916: | Embarked Sapper, 6689, 7th Field Company Engineers, HMAT Orsova, Sydney |
Help us honour Austin Bede Whitehair's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
Eldest son of William Joseph Whitehair, Melrose, Gibson Street, Waverley, NSW who was the day overseer of the composing staff of the Sydney Morning Herald. Austin was born at Surry Hills in 1888, and educated at the Sacred Heart School at Darlinghurst. He joined the Sydney Morning Herald's composing department as an apprentice in 1904.
Enlisting in November 1915, as a Sapper in the Field Engineers he went to France, after the usual period of training in England, and was posted with the 7th Field Company. He took part in much heavyfighting, and was awarded the Military Medal for particularly good work at Zonnebeke. He went through the Somme campaign, and was in the actions at Bapaume, Bullecourt, Armentieres, Villers Bretonneux, and played his part in the Allied advance through Belgium, remaining on service till the end of hostilities.
Military Medal
Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 31
Date: 7 March 1918
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