CURNOW, Arthur Ernest
| Service Number: | 4274 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 14 July 1915, Bendigo, Vic. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 21st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, July 1895 |
| Home Town: | Bendigo, Greater Bendigo, Victoria |
| Schooling: | State School, Woodstock West, Victoria |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | DOW - at Pozieres, GSW right arm - amputated, 3rd Western General Hospital, Neath Glam, South Wales, UK, United Kingdom, 11 October 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
Neath (Llantwit) Cemetery, Wales, United Kingdom Row C, Grave 44, |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Bendigo Great War Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 14 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 4274, 21st Infantry Battalion, Bendigo, Vic. | |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Mar 1916: | Involvement Private, 4274, 21st Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '13' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Wiltshire embarkation_ship_number: A18 public_note: '' | |
| 7 Mar 1916: | Embarked Private, 4274, 21st Infantry Battalion, HMAT Wiltshire, Melbourne | |
| 26 Aug 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 4274, 21st Infantry Battalion, Mouquet Farm, GSW, fractured right arm. Evacuated to UK however died of wounds 11 October 1916. |
Help us honour Arthur Ernest Curnow's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
The summary below was completed by Cathy Sedgwick – Facebook “WW1 Australian War Graves in England/UK
Died on this date - 11th October.....Private Arthur Ernest Curnow was born at Woodstock West, Victoria in 1895. He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.) on 14th July, 1915 as a 20 year old Farmer from Bendigo, Victoria.
Private Arthur Ernest Curnow embarked from Melbourne, Victoria on HMAT Wiltshire (A18) on 7th March, 1916 with the 6th Infantry Brigade, 21st Infantry Battalion, 10th Reinforcements. He proceeded to France from Alexandria on 9th May, 1916 & joined his Battalion in France on 4th August, 1916.
Private Curnow was wounded in action in France on 26th August, 1916. He was invalided to England & admitted to 3rd Western General Hospital, Neath, Glamorgan, Wales on 4th September, 1916 with gunshot wounds to right arm, fractured humerus - severe.
Private Arthur Ernest Curnow died on 11th October, 1916 at 3rd Western General Hospital, Cardiff, Wales from wounds received in action in France - gunshot wounds right arm, fractured Humerus (amputated). He was buried in Llantwit Cemetery, Neath, Wales.
Letter written from Hospital Matron to Private Arthur Ernest Curnow’s mother:
(Letter courtesy of great-niece Philippa Johanson, Strathfieldaye, Victoria)
"Dear Mrs Curnow, I am not standing on ceremony but writing as if I knew you. I feel so much that you would like to hear from me and know something more about your son, Private Curnow.
"I feel it must be a terrible blank to simply receive the official statement, and think it may be some comfort and consolation to you to know that during the short time he was here he made many friends, and that the staff, because of his bright manner and the courage he showed over what was always a painful dressing, had become very attached to him.
"We are feeling his death very much, especially I think because of the fact of his being so far away from all that loved him. One's heart went out to him and now in turn to you in your sorrow and loss. I hope this knowledge may help you and to know that if human skill and care could have saved him he would not have died. His poor arm was shockingly wounded, and he must have lost an enormous amount of blood, and heart failure from loss of blood caused the end.
"He had no pain in the last few hours and it was just a case of 'falling asleep' with just a gentle little sigh. Poor boy. I was with him at the last and my heart ached for you all so faraway, probably thinking of him safe in England and making satisfactory progress.
"Volta A. Billing, Matron, 3rd Western General Hospital, Neath Glam, South Wales. October 15, 1916."
(The above is a summary of my research. The full research can be found by following the link below)
https://ww1austburialsuk.weebly.com/neath.html
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