CROW, David William
| Service Number: | 4278 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 29 August 1915, Goulburn |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 53rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Yass, New South Wales, Australia, 20 May 1889 |
| Home Town: | Goulburn, Goulburn Mulwaree, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Natural causes, Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia, 8 August 1953, aged 64 years |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Goulburn District Railway Employees Great War Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 29 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 4278, 2nd Infantry Battalion, Goulburn | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Dec 1915: | Involvement Private, 4278, 2nd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Aeneas embarkation_ship_number: A60 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Dec 1915: | Embarked Private, 4278, 2nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Aeneas, Sydney | |
| 16 Feb 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 54th Infantry Battalion | |
| 11 Oct 1918: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 56th Infantry Battalion | |
| 18 Dec 1918: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 53rd Infantry Battalion | |
| 8 Apr 1919: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 4278, 53rd Infantry Battalion, HT Tras-os-montes, London for return to Australia - arrived 25 May 1919 | |
| 25 May 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 4278, 53rd Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Michael Silver
The son of Arthur Crow, a bootmaker and his wife Catherine McDermott, David William Crow was born at Yass, New South Wales in 1889. One of seven children, his father died when he was just 12 years old..
David was the only one of the five sons to enlist for military service in World War 1. He joined up at Goullburn in August 1915 and sailed for the war zone in October with the 13th reinforcements for the 2nd Battalion.
With the reorganisation of the AIF in early 1916, he was taken on strength of the 54th Battalion for whom he was to be a part until the Armistice.
From late 1916 he was the batman to Major Benjamin Douglas Jack of the 54th Battalion. Major Jack, was killed instantly by a shell in a street at Gentelles, France on 9 April 1918 when acting as Liaison Offer to the 9th Infantry Brigade. Private Crow, who was with Major Jack at the time of his death, later dug his grave at the Gentelles Cemetery and placed the cross in position.
As the war neared an end Private David Crow was transferred to the 56th Battalion and then the 53rd Battalion before being returned to Australian in April, 1919.
After the war David Crow married Gertrude May Clarke at Goulburn in 1921. They were to have six children before her death, after a protracted illness, at 36 years of age in 1937.
David William Crow died at Darlinghurst, New South Wales in 1953.
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