WHITFORD, Roy Victor
| Service Numbers: | 6449, 3449 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 6 October 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 10th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Won Wron, Victoria, Australia, January 1885 |
| Home Town: | Narrogin, Narrogin, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Celtic Wood, Belgium, 9 October 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Menin Gate Memorial (Commonwealth Memorial to the Missing of the Ypres Salient), Narrogin War Memorial, Williams War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 6 Oct 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 6449, 5th Pioneer Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 23 Dec 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 3449, 5th Pioneer Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '5' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Berrima embarkation_ship_number: A35 public_note: '' | |
| 14 Jul 1917: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 10th Infantry Battalion, Transferred to 10th Battalion at Fovant England TOS 25 August 1917 | |
| 30 Jul 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 3449, 10th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres | |
| 9 Oct 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 3449, 10th Infantry Battalion, Raid on Celtic Wood, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 3449 awm_unit: 10 Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1917-10-16 Court of Inquiry 16 May 18 - date of death 8 October (see the Field Return discussion under the Celtic Wood campaign info) - actual date 9 October. |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Robert Kearney
Raid on Celtic Wood
3449 Private Roy Victor Whitford a farmer from Narrogin, Western Australia was in the field with 11 Platoon C Company.
Credible witness statements in his Red Cross file. Private Wilson MM. - ‘Passchendaele out on a raid, he was killed by shell, left leg blown off. His body was left there. I saw him killed and brought his pay book back, gave it to Lieut. Ingles. I knew him well. Comes from W.A. I wrote to his father about it’.
Private D Rhodes MM for actions on the raid. - ‘I was only a few yards from him when I saw him killed during a raid we made on Celtic Wood on the early morning of the 8th Oct. He was killed by a shell which blew his left leg off and he died almost instantly. I took his paybook and wallet off him and handed them to his pltn. officer to be given in to the battn. orderly room...’
He was recorded on the 13 October Field Return as ‘Missing ’ on 7 October but the finding by a Court of Inquiry convened on 16 May 1918 was that he had been killed in action on 8 October 1917.
Note: - Extract from letter of reply dated 1 March 1918 to Base Records Office letter from Mr. Thos. Whitford, 14 Mill Brook, Narrogin WA – ‘Am enclosing correct copy of letter received from Pte. Wilson, who also returned a number of photos taken out of Pte. R.V. Whitford’s pocket. ...’ [i]
[i] National Archives of Australia, B 2455, Whitford Roy Victor / 8386489, viewed 11 June 20128.
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