BEECHEY, Harold Reeve
| Service Number: | 200 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 18 September 1914, Helena Vale, Western Australia |
| Last Rank: | Lance Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 48th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Friesthorpe Rectory, Lincoln, England, 22 March 1891 |
| Home Town: | Perth, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | De Aston School 1899-1900, Grammar School, Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, England |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Bullecourt, France, 10 April 1917, aged 26 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 18 Sep 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Helena Vale, Western Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Dec 1914: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 200, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ceramic embarkation_ship_number: A40 public_note: '' | |
| 22 Dec 1914: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 200, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), HMAT Ceramic, Melbourne | |
| 10 Apr 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 200, 48th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 200 awm_unit: 48 Battalion awm_rank: Lance Corporal awm_died_date: 1917-04-10 | |
| Date unknown: | Involvement 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), Battle for Pozières |
Help us honour Harold Reeve Beechey's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Geoffrey Gillon
School Admissions Book:
Beechey Harold Reeve, aged 8, admitted Sept 18th 1899, son of Rev. P.W.T. Beechey of Friesthorpe Rectory, left Christmas 1900, killed in action”
Admitted again:
“Beechey H. R., aged 11, admitted 18 September 1902, son of Revd. P. W. T. Beechey, of Friesthorpe Rectory, left Midsummer 1907, killed in Action.”
Page 146, Christmas 1917 De Astonian Magazine
“Another Old De Astonian has given his life for his fellows. It is with deep sorrow that we record the death in France of H. R. Beechey, who was at school from September 1902 until 1907. He is the fourth son to be taken in this great struggle of the late Revd. P W T Beechey of Friesthorpe, (Editor: Five) and Mrs. Beechey and our deepest sympathies lie with Mrs. Beechey and family in their great sorrow.
Emigrated to Australia aged 22.
Enlisted 9 September 1914 Perth, Western Australia.
H. R. Beechey learnt farming in England and joined one of his brothers [Christopher William Reeve Beechey] in Western Australia in 1913. When war was proclaimed they both joined the Australian Forces. He went to Egypt and thence to Gallipoli, where he fought, being invalided twice, the second time being sent home to England. Later he was sent to Egypt and afterwards to France, where he was wounded while taking messages across the open. He came home to recover and finally returned to France in November 1916, being killed by a bomb on April 10th, 1917. His death was mercifully speedy. May his soul rest in peace !”
Having fought the Turks and dysentery at Gallipoli, he survived the Somme with a wound that took him back to England. He wrote home: "Very lucky, nice round shrapnel through arm and chest, but did not penetrate ribs. Feel I could take it out myself with a knife. "But there was little sympathy for the injured or battle-weary in Kitchener's army and he was patched up and sent back to fight again. He wrote bitterly to his mum: "To deny a fellow the right of a final leave seems to me to be miserable spitefulness on their part."
His few possessions - a pair of hairbrushes, a language book, a wallet and a photo of his sweetheart - were returned to his mother. In her only surviving response to the tragedy overwhelming her family, Amy wrote: "Thank you very much for your kindness in sending me details of the death of my son L/Cpl HR Beechey 48 Battalion. "I am thankful that he did not suffer long. Poor boy, he had been invalided twice and wounded once and we hoped he would come through."
He was a son of the Rev Prince William Thomas Beechey [1836–1912 ] and Amy Beechey-nee Reeve- [1856–1936] of 197 Wragby Rd, Lincoln and sometime of 14 Avondale Road, Lincoln, England.
Four of his brothers also fell:
2nd Lieutenant Frank Collett Reeve BEECHEY, 13th Bn, East Yorkshire Regiment, died of wounds, 14 November 1916;
13773 Sergeant Bernard Reeve [Barnard] BEECHEY, 2nd Bn, The Lincolnshire Regiment, killed in action, 25 September 1915-born 1877 -Spalding
58708 Private Charles Reeve BEECHEY, 25th Bn, Royal Fusiliers, died of wounds, 20 October 1917;
593763 Rifleman Leonard Reeve BEECHEY, 18th Bn, The London Regiment (London Irish Rifles), died of wounds, 29 December 1917
His brother,Private Christopher William Reeve Beechey-Service No. 1368-4th Field Ambulance survived the war but was severely injured-he returned to Australia where he died 26th September 1968 at the age of 85. Christopher enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 18 September 1914 and embarked from Melbourne for active service abroad on 22 December 1914 per HMAT "Ceramic" (A40). He served as a stretcher-bearer. He was shot in the shoulder by a Turkish sniper in May 1915 and fell down a ravine, damaging his spine. He was discharged on 13 July 1916. He could only walk for short distances with two crutches for the remainder of his life.
Two other brothers served with British Forces and survived:
Eric Reeve BEECHEY, Royal Army Medical Corps (Dental)-born 1889 – died 1954 Bath aged 64
2nd Lt Samuel St Vincent Reeve BEECHEY, born 13th August 1899-died Bromsgrove 1977
Biography
Harold Reeve BEECHEY was born on 22nd March, 1891 at the Freisthorpe Rectory, Lincolnshire, England where his father was a minister
His parents were (Rev) Prince William Thomas (Tom) BEECHEY and Amy REEVE
He enlisted in Sept. 1914 in Helena Vale, Western Australia as a Private with the 16th Battalio-n A Company - the unit embarked from Melbourne on board HMAT Ceramic on 22nd December 1914. His last known rank was Lance Corporal with the 48th Australian Infantry Battalion
He was Killed in Action on 10th April, 1917 in France- no known grave but he is commemorated in the Australian National memorial in Villers Bretonneux, France and also the Australian War Memorial & a plaque in his memory (see following links)
http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Lincolnshire/MarketRasenDeAstonSchool.html (www.roll-of-honour.com)
STORY about his brothers who were also killed in WW1
PHOTO of his plaque with Harold & his brothers names (church)
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=16179792 (www.findagrave.com)
Harold received the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and the Victory Medal
Click images to start slideshow.