Herman Gustav EY

Badge Number: 83356, Sub Branch: Kingston
83356

EY, Herman Gustav

Service Number: 756
Enlisted: 30 January 1917, at Woodside
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: 10th Infantry Battalion
Born: Hahndorf, South Australia, Australia, November 1885
Home Town: Hahndorf, Mount Barker, South Australia
Schooling: Not yet discovered
Occupation: Miner
Died: Springbank, South Australia, Australia, 6 April 1947, cause of death not yet discovered
Cemetery: Not yet discovered
Memorials: Uraidla & Districts Roll of Honour 2
Show Relationships

World War 1 Service

30 Jan 1917: Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 756, 8th Machine Gun Company, at Woodside
21 Nov 1917: Involvement Private, 756, 8th Machine Gun Company, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '21' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Nestor embarkation_ship_number: A71 public_note: ''
21 Nov 1917: Embarked Private, 756, 8th Machine Gun Company, HMAT Nestor, Melbourne
11 Nov 1918: Involvement Private, 756, 10th Infantry Battalion

Help us honour Herman Gustav Ey's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.

Biography contributed by Saint Ignatius' College

Biography of Herman Gustav Ey

 

Before the War

Herman Gustav Ey was born in 1885 in Hahndorf South Australia, which was where he grew up. He had a German background and at the time, the town of Hahndorf had a lot of German influence. Before he was enlisted in the AIF, he was a widower, which meant he used to be married but his spouse had died. For his occupation, he was a miner, which meant he was already a hardworking person, and he was a Methodist. At 31 years of age, Herman stood at 5 feet, 10 and a half inches, he weighed 177 pounds, he had brown eyes and had blonde hair.

 

During the war

Herman was enlisted at 31 years of age on the 30th of January 1917. His regimental number was 756 and he was placed into the 8th Machine Gun Company. He trained for several months in Australia. Herman was first ranked as a private, and he embarked on the HMAT A71 Nestor in Melbourne on the 21st of November 1917 to arrive in Suez, Egypt on the 15th of December 1917. Whilst in Egypt, he was admitted to a segregation camp in Alexandria on the 2nd of January 1918 and he was later transferred to an Australian Camp in Suez on the 16th of January 1918. Herman wasn't in Egypt for too long as he boarded the HMAT Abbassieh on the 29th of January 1918 to arrive in Southampton, England on the 16th of February 1918. Herman eventually proceeded to head to France where he was taken on strength of the 10th Battalion on the 11th of April 1918.

Whilst serving on the field, Herman was admitted to hospital on the 2nd of June 1918 for having stomatitis, which was a severe gum and mouth infection, caused by the lack of dental care during battle. He eventually re-joined his unit from hospital on the 17th of July 1918, but he was admitted to hospital again on the 3rd of August 1918 for having a bad case of gingivitis, which was caused by poor oral hygiene. After nearly a month in hospital, he was released from hospital on the 16th of September 1918.

After all this fighting in the war in France, Herman was eventually transferred to a contact camp on the 8th of March 1919 and on the 23rd of March, he headed to Southampton from France to proceed to head to Weymouth. On the 10th of April 1919, Herman returned back to Australia from Weymouth to go on with his life after the war.

 

After the War

After his service in the war, Herman was awarded multiple medals for his service during World War 1. He received the British War Medal and Victory Medal for serving in the war overseas. These medals were given to many soldiers who fought during World War 1.

 

Read more...