ABBOTT, Richard Hartley Smith
| Service Number: | Officer |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 16 December 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Captain |
| Last Unit: | 22nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Bendigo, Vic., 12 January 1885 |
| Home Town: | Bendigo, Greater Bendigo, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Employer |
| Died: | Surry Hills, NSW, 26 February 1940, aged 55 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Bendigo Civil Cemetery |
| Memorials: | Bendigo Great War Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 16 Dec 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Captain, Officer, 21st Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Feb 1915: | Involvement Captain, 14th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Clan McGillivray embarkation_ship_number: A46 public_note: '' | |
| 2 Feb 1915: | Embarked Captain, 14th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Clan McGillivray, Melbourne | |
| 23 Nov 1916: | Involvement Captain, 22nd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '13' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Hororata embarkation_ship_number: A20 public_note: '' | |
| 23 Nov 1916: | Embarked Captain, 22nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Hororata, Melbourne |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
Discharged in UK 17 January 1920
FATALLY INJURED
BY TRUCK
Well-known Soldier and Army Inventor
MELBOURNE, Sunday.
Former A.I.F. Captain and war-time invontor, Mr. Richard Hartley Smith Abbott (55), was fatally injured by a truck when standing on the footpath at Surrey Hills this afternoon. The driver swerved to avoid a collision with a car. Captain Abbott accompanied the first contingent of the A.I.F. to the landing at Gallipoli, where he was seriously wounded. On his recovery in Egypt he was placed in charge of the first batch of soldiers repatriated to Australia, and was thanked in the House for his control of the men.
He was next in charge of reinforcements that went overseas, but the reactions of his wounds resulted in his discharge from active service in France.
VALUABLE INVENTIONS.
He was placed in the inventors' branch of the British Army. He assisted to improve the Haley grenade, and increased tho accuracy and length of the trench mortar. Possibly his most effective invention was the scale buoy, employed among gold-mining companies and the medical profession to soften water and prevent erosion.
Mr. Abbott's father is Mr. B. H. S. Abbott, of Bendigo, a former member of the Senate and Legislative Council, and one time Mayor of Bendigo.