MITCHELL, Roy Richard Douglas
| Service Number: | 2406 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 21 July 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 3rd Field Artillery Brigade |
| Born: | Paynesville, Victoria, Australia, 12 August 1896 |
| Home Town: | Trafalgar, Baw Baw, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Paynesville and Trafalgar, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Labourer, Tram & Bus Driver (MMTB) |
| Died: | Heart Failure, Oakleigh South, Victoria, Australia , 11 July 1978, aged 81 years |
| Cemetery: |
Springvale Botanical Cemetery, Melbourne Cremated and ashes interred. |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 21 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2406, 24th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 29 Sep 1915: | Involvement Private, 2406, 24th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '14' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: RMS Osterley embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 29 Sep 1915: | Embarked Private, 2406, 24th Infantry Battalion, RMS Osterley, Melbourne | |
| 8 Aug 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Sergeant, 3rd Field Artillery Brigade |
Biography contributed by VWM Australia
Roy Richard Douglas MITCHELL, son of Charles Bruce Mitchell and Mary Elizabeth Milne was born 12 August 1896 at Raymond Island, Paynesville, Victoria, Australia Australian Birth Index, 1788-1922, 1896 Victoria Reg No 13401; died 11 July 1978 age 81 at Oakleigh South, Victoria, Australia Australian Death Index, 1787-1985, 1978 Victoria Reg No 15226. Cremated 13 July 1978, interred Springvale Botanical Cemetery, Springvale Victoria, Australia.
Private Mitchell's first attempted enlistment was on 9 July 1915 - documents show he used the names Roy Richard Mitchell. This attempt seems not to have gone further. His substantive enlistment and service followed on 21 July 1915 under the names Richard Douglas Mitchell.
Biography contributed by Kaye Brill
Roy Richard Douglas MITCHELL, son of Charles Bruce Mitchell and Mary Elizabeth Milne was born 12 August 1896 at Raymond Island, East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia.
Roy was the third eldest and third son of nine children (6 boys and 3 girls)
In 1894, work opportunities for Roy’s father had seen the family move to Raymond Island. In 1904 the family returned to and established a home at Trafalgar, Victoria which for many years remained the family residence.
Roy attended schools at Paynesville and Trafalgar.
During WW1, Roy enlisted in the Australia Imperial Forces (AIF) on 21 July 1915. Roy’ s oldest brother Kenneth George Robert Mitchell (Ken) had enlisted in the AIF just one week earlier on 14 July 1915. Both Roy and Ken were members of the Australian Imperial Force, 24th Infantry Battalion, 5th Reinforcement. On 29 September 1915 they embarked on ‘RMS Osterley’ in Melbourne to set sail for Europe.
A second older brother, Charles James Marshall Mitchell (Marshall) enlisted in the AIF on 28th April 1916 joining Roy and Ken in Europe. Only Roy and Ken returned to Australia; Charles was killed in action in France three months before the end of WW1.
During WW1 Roy served mainly as a driver in both Belgium and France.
Sergeant Roy Mitchell, Service No: 2406 was awarded the 1914/15 Star Medal No 17017; British War Medal No 19657 and Victory Medal No 19530 for his service during WW1.
Roy was repatriated from England on 30 April 1919 aboard the ‘Castalia’. He disembarked in Melbourne on 30 May 1919 and was discharged from the AIF on 22 July 1919.
On discharge from the Army, Roy and his older brother Ken leased soldier settlement blocks to establish farms at Moe West, Victoria.
Roy married Millicent Sefton on 21 July 1923 at the Melbourne Registry Office, Victoria, Australia. Millicent (Milly), daughter of William Thomas Sefton and Fleda Ann Bird was born 1 July 1899 at Natimuk, Western Victoria, Australia, died 2 November 1995 age 96 at Caritas Christi Nursing Home, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
Children (3): Joan Millicent; Betty and Helen Margaret
After marrying, Roy decided farming was not for him, sold his rural block lease to his brother Ken and moved to Melbourne where Roy and Milly lived at 371 Punt Road, Richmond, before moving to Brunswick North in 1925.
On moving to Melbourne, Roy joined the Victorian Police force. Roy Mitchell, Police No: 6932 was appointed 14 September 1923 and stationed at the Police Depot, Melbourne from 20 September 1923.
Roy’s police career was short lived. In 1925 he was working as a ‘Gripman’ (driver) on the city’s cable trams and later until retirement as a bus driver with The Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board (MMTB).
[NB. A Gripman was a worker on a cable car who operated the grip which by grasping or releasing the moving cable, started or stopped the car]
From 1928 and until retirement (c1961) Roy and his family lived at Alfred Crescent, Fitzroy North, Victoria. The family initially lived at 59 Alfred Crescent, then in 1933 moved to a larger house at 45 Alfred Crescent where they had extra room to accommodate the many extended family members who came to Melbourne for all sorts of reasons.
Roy enjoyed gardening and grew most of the family vegetables; Milly was a great cook and the family home was the venue for many large family gatherings – by all accounts, lots of fun, singing and laughter.
In retirement Roy and Milly moved to Oakleigh South, Victoria to live in a ‘granny flat’ at the home of their youngest daughter Margaret and her family.
Roy died of heart failure 11 July 1978 age 81 at home in Oakleigh South. Roy was cremated and his ashes interred at Springvale Botanical Cemetery, Springvale Victoria, Australia
References:
- Victoria Births, Death and Marriage records
- National Archives of Australia WW1 Service Records
- Victoria, Australia Police Gazettes
- Australian Electoral Rolls 1903-1980
- Springvale Botanical Cemetery Records
- Roy’s daughter (Betty Mitchell)
- Personal acquaintance
Compiled by Kaye (Granddaughter of Roy’s sister Irene Alice Jane Mitchell)