Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Harold Vynne Wood was born on June 28th, 1889, in Stalham, which was a town in the county of Norfolk, England. He was one of the seven children born from Edward Burchell Wood and Janet Elizabeth Vynne.  Harold’s father was a Baptist minister. His mother, Janet, died when Harold was seven, and his sister Winnie died when he was nine. At the age of twelve, Harold’s father Edward remarried. His family moved to Switzerland, but Harold stayed in England, furthering his education. 

At the age of fourteen, Harold moved to London to work in a pharmacy. In 1905 Harold’s family returned from Switzerland, settling down in Kirkcaldy, a town in Scotland. Harold moved back in with his family in Kirkcaldy. Harold then got an apprenticeship in cabinetmaking, which he completed at the age of twenty-two. Not long before the start of WW1, he along with most of his siblings, migrated to South Australia. Harold worked as a carpenter in Woodville up until the start of the First World War

In September 1914, Harold enlisted for the army along with his two younger brothers Alan and Bob. Harold joined the Ambulance Corps, in the 4th Field Ambulance. He later became an officer with the 16th Australian Infantry Battalion. Harold and Alan both served in France and Gallipoli together.

Harold’s time during the war was mostly spent of the Western Front. In 1917, Alan was badly wounded in battle and was returned to Australia for recovery. During his time in the army, Harold only ever had one serious injury, without a return home.

During Harold’s time in the army, he wrote 28 letters including one from Gallipoli in 1915, with the rest being from his time in France between 1917 and 1918. These letters, which are still mostly within their original envelopes, were written in ink and pencil and were made using multiple different paper sizes with each letter using both sides of the paper. The subjects of the letters usually consisted of subjects such as camp life, illnesses, shelling, leave, billets, and conditions. A large letter was written on the 19th of April 1918 where Harold mentioned muses on girls, his family, what his home should be like, the war overall, recent deaths, movements by train and sleeping in barns. His final letter, of which was written on the 25th of September 1918 included long descriptions on the war front, the fleeing Germans, the prisoners he captured and the souvenirs he took. Harold, who was promoted to Lieutenant during his time, returned to Australia on the 20th of October 1918. He was then discharged from the army on the 13th of February 1919.

After the war, Harold went back to working as a carpenter. In 1922, Harold and his wife Majorie gave birth to David, Peter and Judith. Harold Vynne Wood also was a soldier in the second world war and was the commanding officer of the 6th Australian Army Troops Company. On the 23rd of the 4th, 1942 David, who had also enlisted in WW2 for the Royal Australian Air Force, died in a flying battle over the island of Timor. On the 20th of July 1944, Harold was discharged from the army for a second time.

At the age 104, on the 20th of September 1993, Harold died of unknown causes. He died at the location of Victor Harbor. Harold was buried in the Centennial Park Cemetery in Adelaide.