CLOSE, Harold Craig
| Service Number: | 319 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 12 February 1915, Bendigo, Vic. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 23rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Caulfield, Victoria, Australia, 10 March 1896 |
| Home Town: | Bendigo, Greater Bendigo, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Warrnambool State School,Central State School Bendigo, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Cattle station hand |
| Died: | Died of wounds, Armentieres, France, 18 June 1916, aged 20 years |
| Cemetery: |
Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension, Nord II B 210 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Bendigo Central School Honor Roll, Bendigo Great War Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 12 Feb 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 319, 23rd Infantry Battalion, Bendigo, Vic. | |
|---|---|---|
| 10 May 1915: | Involvement Private, 319, 23rd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '14' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Euripides embarkation_ship_number: A14 public_note: '' | |
| 10 May 1915: | Embarked Private, 319, 23rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Euripides, Melbourne | |
| 7 Sep 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 319, 23rd Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli | |
| 25 Sep 1915: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 319, 23rd Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, Contusions to face from a splintered periscope hit by gunfire. Evacuated to Malta, then England. Rejoined unit in Egypt 9 March 1916. | |
| 18 Jun 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 319, 23rd Infantry Battalion, BW to skull sustained in trenches near Armentieres. Evacuated to No.1 Canadian CCS however died of wounds same day. |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
Son of John and Elizabeth CLOSE, 204 Myers Street, Bendigo, Victoria
LOVING REMEMBRANCE
A week ago Tuesday Mr. and Mrs. J. Close, of 204 Myers-street, received a message from the Defence department that their son Private Harold Craig Close, of the- 23rd Battalion, had been reported wounded (second occasion). Tuesday. Mr. and Mrs. Close received the sad news that their son had died of wounds on 18th June. The information was conveyed in a message to the Rev. S. Scholes in the following terms :-"Officially reported that Private Harold Craig Close died of wounds on 18th June. Kindly inform Mr. J. Close, father, 204 Myers-street, Bendigo, of the sad news. Convey regret and sympathy of King and Queen and Commonwealth in loss sustained." Private Close was 20 years of age on 11th March, and was born at Caulfield. Prior to enlisting he was on Mr. Charles Smithwick's station in New South Wales. He left for the front with the 23rd Battalion on 8th May, 1915, and arrived at Anzac early in September. He was on the Southland when she was torpedoed. He was only a short time at Anzac when he received a face wound. He was removed to the hospital at Malta and subsequently invalided to England. He recovered and was able, to rejoin his unit in Egypt in March, leaving for France the same month. The message does not state when he was wounded, but his death occurred after he "had seen a little more than two months' active service on the west front. Much
sympathy will be felt for Mr. and Mrs. Close who lost their eldest son as the result of rheumatic fever about three years ago. Their youngest and surviving son, Norman, is a pupil at the School of Mines.
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