HULLS, Herbert Williams
| Service Number: | 5038 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 25 September 1916, Enlisted at Royal Agricultural Society Showgrounds, Moore Park, in Sydney. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 30th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Moonee Ponds, Victoria, Australia, 28 March 1899 |
| Home Town: | Bondi, Waverley, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Railway Locomotive Cleaner |
| Died: | Died of wounds, France, 20 February 1918, aged 18 years |
| Cemetery: |
Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension, Nord III F 27 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 25 Sep 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 5038, 30th Infantry Battalion, Enlisted at Royal Agricultural Society Showgrounds, Moore Park, in Sydney. | |
|---|---|---|
| 10 May 1917: | Involvement Private, 5038, 30th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '16' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Marathon embarkation_ship_number: A74 public_note: '' | |
| 10 May 1917: | Embarked Private, 5038, 30th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Marathon, Sydney | |
| 19 Feb 1918: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 5038, 30th Infantry Battalion, Battle of Messines, Shrapnel to face, knee and foot. Died of wounds the next day. |
My Great Uncle
My maternal grandmother was Evelyn Annie Vink, née Hulls from Bondi NSW, and Herbert William Hulls was her brother. The family were devastated by his death at Messiness in France, and never stopped talking about him. He enlisted in 1917 into the 30th Battalion and was in the 10th Battalion when he was hit by a shell and died of his wounds shortly after. Because he was so loved and missed by his family I wanted to add to his story. A studio portrait was proudly displayed by his sister Jessie while she lived. Our family are proud of his service and want to keep his memory alive, especially this ANZAC day 2022.
Submitted 24 April 2022 by Mary Bourke
Biography contributed by John Oakes
Herbert William HULLS (Service Number 5038) was born on 28th March 1899 at Moonee Ponds, Victoria. In January 1916 he was employed as a temporary shop boy at Eveleigh Locomotive Depot. By June he had been made permanent and in September was released from duty to join the Expeditionary Forces. He enlisted at the Royal Agricultural Society Showgrounds on 25th September 1916 claiming that he was an ‘Engine Cleaner’. He claimed that he was 18-years-old, when he was in fact 17-years-and-not-quite-6-months-old; and that he had four years’ service with the 22nd Battalion Cadets, which would imply that he had been with them since he was 13-years-old. He gave his mother, Jessie May Hulls of Bondi as his next of kin.
He left Australia from Sydney aboard HMAT ‘Marathon’ on 11th May 1917 and reached Devonport (England) on 20th July. He then spent several months training in England before proceeding overseas to France in November 1917. He was taken on the strength of the 30th Battalion on 22nd November.
He was wounded in action near Messines with shrapnel to his face, knee and foot. He was treated at the 14th Australian Field Ambulance and then the 53rd Casualty Clearing Station. He died of his injuries the next day – 20th February 1918. If the birthdate on his Railway record card is correct, he was not yet 19. The Australian War Memorial records do show 19, but they may be based on his Attestation Papers.
He was buried in the Bailleul Communal Cemetery.
It was the practice of the military authorities to return to the next of kin the personal effects of deceased soldiers. These items seem to have been greatly valued by families. Hulls effects were sent to Australia per SS ‘Barunga’:
‘… which vessel was lost at sea, with all cargo, as a result of enemy action. It is regretted no hope can be entertained for the recovery of these articles.’
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.
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