BEE, Stephen
| Service Number: | 2430 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 18 October 1916, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 14th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia , August 1891 |
| Home Town: | Auburn, Boroondara, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Camberwell State School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Orchardist |
| Died: | Died of wounds (POW of Germany), Belgium, 10 July 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, Cobram Barooga RSL War Memorial, Hawthorn Auburn Methodist Church Honour Roll WW1, Menin Gate Memorial (Commonwealth Memorial to the Missing of the Ypres Salient) |
World War 1 Service
| 18 Oct 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2430, Melbourne, Victoria | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2430, 39th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Port Lincoln embarkation_ship_number: A17 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Oct 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 2430, 39th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Port Lincoln, Melbourne | |
| 9 Jul 1917: | Imprisoned Warneton | |
| 10 Jul 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2430, 14th Infantry Battalion, Warneton, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 2430 awm_unit: 14 Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1917-07-10 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by John Edwards
"...2430 Private Stephen Bee, orchardist, of Cobram, Victoria. Pte Bee enlisted in the 39th Battalion on 4 September 1916 and embarked on HMAT Port Lincoln on 20 October 1916 for Plymouth. He proceeded to France on 20 April 1917 and was then transferred to the 14th Battalion on 8 May 1917. Pte Bee was reported missing in action on 9 July 1917 and subsequently died of wounds whilst a prisoner of war in German hands' on 10 July 1917, aged 25 years." - SOURCE (www.awm.gov.au)
Biography contributed by Stephen Brooks
2430 Private Stephen Bee, 14th Battalion AIF, died of wounds as a POW 10 July 1917, aged 26. He was the son of Thomas Hodgson Bee and Mary Glasson Bee of Auburn, Victoria. His mother was a member of the Quick family, who have long been orchardists in the Cobram and Tocumwal district.
Stephen Bee was a 25 year old orchardist working at Quick’s orchard Cobram when he enlisted in the 14th Battalion in September 1916. Whilst out in a listening post forward of the trenches in Belgium on the night of 8th July 1917 the Germans put down a bombardment of trench mortars and attacked. Bee had volunteered for 5 nights in a row to man the post with a few others. The Germans were eventually repulsed but afterwards no trace of Stephen Bee could be found. He was later reported by the Germans to have died of wounds whilst a prisoner of war, 10th July 1917. Stephen Bee has no known grave and is remembered on the Menin Gate Memorial in Belgium. His brother Tom Bee also served and returned safely to Australia.
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