FORREST, Henry Garnet
| Service Number: | 123 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 19 February 1915, An original of A Company |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | Australian Flying Corps (AFC) |
| Born: | Brunswick, Victoria, Australia, 5 December 1895 |
| Home Town: | Brunswick West, Moreland, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Clerk |
| Died: | 1945, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Hawthorn Postmaster General's Department Victoria 1, West Brunswick State School Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 19 Feb 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Company Quartermaster Sergeant, 123, 23rd Infantry Battalion, An original of A Company | |
|---|---|---|
| 10 May 1915: | Involvement 123, 23rd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '14' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Euripides embarkation_ship_number: A14 public_note: '' | |
| 10 May 1915: | Embarked 123, 23rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Euripides, Melbourne | |
| 12 Mar 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 46th Infantry Battalion | |
| 2 Oct 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 46th Infantry Battalion | |
| 26 Apr 1917: | Transferred AIF WW1, Lieutenant, Australian Flying Corps (AFC) |
Help us honour Henry Garnet Forrest's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
A WW1 flying ace with 11 victories, Henry Garnet Forrest enlisted in the AIF infantry in the 23rd Battalion during September 1915. He one of was the unit’s Company Quartermaster Sergeants. He served at Galliopli from early September until the evacuation. Forrest was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 46th Battalion on 12 March 1916. He shipped out for service on the Western Front soon after. Forrest led a daring trench raid in the Hollandscheschuur salient in September 1916; this gained him a mention in despatches and the Italian Silver Medal of Military Valor.
During Bloody April 1917, Forrest transferred to the Australian Flying Corps. On 26 May he was given permission to wear his Italian Silver Medal of Military Valor. He served successively in No. 32 Squadron and No. 43 Squadron of the RFC until he was wounded in action on 6 August 1917 and removed from combat. In November 1917, he would return to combat as a Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a pilot in No. 2 Squadron AFC.
On 22 February 1918, Forrest was promoted to captain. Forrest began his string of aerial victories on 22 March 1918, when he drove down a German two-seater reconnaissance aircraft out of control, followed by the destruction of two Albatros D.V fighters over Bullecourt. The next day, he set a German reconnaissance aircraft afire northeast of Bapaume. A week later, he drove down another over Le Quesnel to become an ace.
On the 12th, he destroyed one singlehanded over Vieille-Chapelle. On 9 May, he sent down a DFW reconnaissance aircraft out of control. On 1 June 1918, he destroyed a Fokker Triplane fighter over Chuignes. The following day, in two morning dogfights, he sent a Pfalz D.III out of control near Estrées, and another over Albert. His final tally amounted to six enemy aircraft destroyed, including the one shared with Manuel, and five more driven down out of control.
He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) on 2 July 1918. He was also returned to Home Establishment in England during July. His DFC was gazetted on 3 August 1918. Its citation read: “Captain Henry Garnet Forrest (Australian Flying Corps) His leadership of patrols has been characterised by great dash and determination whether on high or low work. He has displayed skill in manoeuvring and boldness in attacking superior numbers.”
He was sent home sick and arrived back in Melbourne on New Year's Day 1919. Forrest was discharged from the AFC on 23 February 1919.
A replica of Forrest's S.E.5a is at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Australia.
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