SEIDEL, Henry Edward
| Service Number: | 2395 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 30 April 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 35th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Braidwood, New South Wales, Australia, 24 February 1890 |
| Home Town: | Braidwood, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in action, Belgium, 1 June 1917, aged 27 years |
| Cemetery: |
Strand Military Cemetery, Ploegsteert, Wallonie, Belgium Plot II, Row C, Grave No. 10. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Braidwood Servicemens Club Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 30 Apr 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2395, 35th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 17 Oct 1916: | Involvement Private, 2395, 35th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Borda embarkation_ship_number: A30 public_note: '' | |
| 17 Oct 1916: | Embarked Private, 2395, 35th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Borda, Sydney |
Help us honour Henry Edward Seidel's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Henry Edward Seidel was the son of Johan Gottileb and Ellen Seidel. The father (known as Edward Seidel) had arrived in South Australia from Germany during 1854. Around 1868 he started a family with Ellen at Mongarlowe, a small gold mining town about 13 kilometres from Braidwood, New South Wales. After they raised 11 children they decided to get married in 1910.
Henry Seidel only joined the 35th Battalion in Belgium on 13 May 1917, and was killed in action three weeks later. A number of witnesses in his Red Cross wounded and missing file said he was in close support trenches near Ploergsteert Wood and was leaving a dugout for rations when a piece of shell, a ‘whizz bang’, hit him in the forehead and killed him instantly. He was reported to be a “fine fellow, highly esteemed by his comrades, very popular with the boys.”
The local newspaper reported that Henry was a quiet unassuming young fellow, and highly respected in the district.
His younger brother, 1276A Pte. Alfred George Seidel 19th Battalion AIF was killed in action in Belgium only three months later on 20 September 1917, aged 26.
Another younger brother, 142 Pte Albert Seidel, an original member of the 3rd Battalion AIF, enlisted in August 1914, served at the Anzac Landing, was reported missing for a time, was severely wounded at Pozieres in 1916 and was returned to Australia medically unfit on 13 February 1917.