PRIESTLEY, Victor Ridgway Massey
| Service Number: | 31502 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 9 September 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Gunner |
| Last Unit: | 1st Divisional Ammunition Column |
| Born: | Westbury, Tasmania, Australia , 13 July 1881 |
| Home Town: | Westbury, Meander Valley, Tasmania |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Natural/ Old Age, Devonport, Tasmania, Australia , 28 June 1966, aged 84 years |
| Cemetery: |
Devonport Old Public Cemetery Don Cemetery, Tasmania |
| Memorials: | Westbury St Andrew's Church Roll of Honour, Westbury War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 9 Sep 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Gunner, 31502, Divisional Ammunition Column | |
|---|---|---|
| 23 Dec 1916: | Involvement Gunner, 31502, 1st Divisional Ammunition Column, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '22' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: RMS Orontes embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 23 Dec 1916: | Embarked Gunner, 31502, 1st Divisional Ammunition Column, RMS Orontes, Melbourne |
Help us honour Victor Ridgway Massey Priestley's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Elizabeth Perkins
Victor had been married for 10 days when he sailed off to war on 23rd Dec 1916 from Port Melbourne. Victor joined the A.I.F. in Sept 1916 as his sister Beatrice was already serving as a Sister with the A.A.N.S. in England and later in France. His youngest brother Vivian, had been killed at Gallipoli on 25th April 1915. He joined the Infantry but later became a Gunner with 14th Field Artillery Brigade, as he was excellent with horses having grown up on a farm in Westbury, N.W. Tasmania. These days we would call him a 'horse whisper'! He served on the Western Front and was fighting on the Hindenburg Line at the conclusion of WWI on 11th Nov 1918. He returned to Australia uninjured physically but always carried the scars of what he'd seen and been part of.
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