Virtual
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Australia

From Australian Remembrance Army

Private Mark Wilde (Service No. 890), an Australian World War One veteran who was at the landing at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915, is among almost 800 previously unmarked graves in Lutwyche Cemetery that we have now honoured with a plaque recognising their service to Australia.

On 23 September 2023, his plaque was unveiled in Lutwyche Cemetery, along with a further 300 plaques on the previously unmarked graves of Australian World War One veterans:
https://www.australianremembrancearmy.com/lutwyche...

Private Mark Wilde (Service No. 890) was born in 1882 in Ashton-under-Lyne, Cheshire, England, to John Henry Wilde and Emma Melis. Before emigrating to Australia, he served with the Worcestershire Regiment in England, where he was recorded as Private No. 6210. He emigrated to Australia in June 1911 and settled in Queensland.

He was working as a labourer when he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force at Brisbane on 24 August 1914, aged 32, naming his father as next of kin. He was posted to the 9th Infantry Battalion, one of the first Queensland units raised for service in the Great War, and embarked for active service overseas aboard HMAT Omrah (A5) from Brisbane on 24 September 1914.

After training in Egypt, he embarked aboard the troopship Ionian on 2 March 1915 with the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force for the Gallipoli campaign. He landed with the 9th Battalion in the first wave at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915 and was wounded in action the following month, receiving gunshot wounds to both legs. Following medical treatment, he recovered and returned to duty.

After recovery, he rejoined his unit and was later transferred to the Western Front, where he was again wounded in action in France in July 1916, sustaining a gunshot wound to the buttock. Following medical treatment, he continued his service with the 1st Division Salvage Company, performing vital duties recovering and repairing equipment under difficult and dangerous conditions near the front lines. During his service, he was also hospitalised with influenza and dysentery, illnesses that were widespread among troops in the harsh conditions of the campaign.

On 15 November 1918, he embarked for the return voyage to Australia aboard HMAT Port Darwin, which departed from Suez, Egypt, carrying soldiers returning home for medical discharge. He arrived in Australia the following month and was formally discharged from the AIF in early 1919.

Between 1925 and 1935 he was living in Boulia and Cloncurry in Western Queensland. By 1937 he had relocated to Brisbane and was working as a labourer.
Private Mark Wilde died on 16 August 1950, aged 68, and was buried the following day in Anzac Portion 8, Lutwyche Cemetery, Brisbane.

He was a single man who never married and had no known children.

A footnote. One year prior to his emigration to Australia, records show that he was involved in a legal case in England. In 1910, while living in Cheshire and recently serving with the Worcestershire Regiment, he was charged with murder. He stood trial and was found not guilty. You can read more about this interesting case here: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article172965142

After 75 years without recognition at his place of burial, the grave of Private Mark Wilde who was at the landing of Gallipoli on April 25 1915, now bears a plaque commemorating his service to Australia — ensuring his name endures among those remembered for their duty and sacrifice.

Lest We Forget.