Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From Australian Remembrance Army

Henry Harold McPhillips (Service Numbers: Boer War 1231, WWI 4194, WWII N77548), an Australian veteran of the Boer War and both World Wars, is among almost 800 previously unmarked WWI veterans’ graves in Lutwyche Cemetery we have now marked with a plaque recognising their service for Australia.

On 23 September 2023, we unveiled his plaque in Lutwyche Cemetery, along with a further 300 plaques on the previously unmarked graves of Australian World War One veterans:
 See Australian Remembrance Army Facebook page

Henry Harold McPhillips was born on 2 February 1883 in Launceston, Tasmania, to Henry McPhillips and Emma McPhillips (née Williams).

His earliest association with military activity dates to the Second Boer War. Newspaper accounts published during his lifetime record that, at 17 years of age, McPhillips left Pinkenba, Brisbane, in 1900 as a stowaway aboard the troopship Victoria, working his passage to Durban, South Africa. On arrival he and several other Australians were engaged by local recruiting agents and enlisted for a six-month term with the Johannesburg Mounted Rifles, an irregular mounted unit raised during the later phases of the conflict. He subsequently returned to Australia with his fare paid by the unit.

McPhillips next enlisted for military service during the First World War. He joined the Australian Imperial Force in Brisbane on 21 April 1915, giving his age as 32 and his occupation as cooper, a craftsman who produced wooden casks, barrels, vats, buckets, tubs and troughs. Later that year he embarked for overseas service and proceeded to Gallipoli, where he rejoined his unit in December 1915 shortly before the evacuation of the peninsula. In early 1916 he continued his service in Egypt before embarking for France in May 1917.

From 1917 through 1918 he served on the Western Front, being processed through the major depots at Etaples, Rouen and Havre. His service record notes several hospital admissions for illness but no recorded wounding. He undertook leave to England in mid-1918 and, after the Armistice, marched to England for repatriation. He embarked from the United Kingdom in March 1919 and returned to Australia after nearly four years of continuous service abroad.

More than two decades later, McPhillips again volunteered for service during the Second World War. He enlisted at Paddington, New South Wales, on 12 August 1940 at the age of 57, and was posted to the 16th Garrison Battalion, later transferring to the 11th Garrison Battalion. His responsibilities included service as a battalion cook following specialist training.

Despite recurrent illness, including influenza, pneumonia and ultimately chronic emphysema, he continued to carry out his duties until he was declared medically unfit and discharged in July 1943.

Across three conflicts and more than forty years, Henry Harold McPhillips showed steadfast commitment to military service. His record, from irregular service in the South African War to active duty in the First World War and home-defence service in the Second, demonstrates resilience, resourcefulness and an enduring willingness to serve.

Throughout his life, Henry lived at various city and rural addresses in Queensland and New South Wales, and worked as a cooper, carter, labourer and lift driver.

In 1925 he married Madge Howe in Wagga Wagga, NSW; however, his 1940 WWII attestation papers record his marital status as single.

Henry Harold McPhillips died on 20 September 1953, aged 70, and was buried two days later in Anzac Portion 8, Lutwyche Cemetery, Brisbane.
After decades without recognition at his place of burial, his grave now bears a plaque commemorating his service to Australia — ensuring his name endures among those remembered for their duty and sacrifice. His identity and dignity have now been restored.

We have remembered him.
Lest We Forget.