CHALK, Richard George
| Service Number: | 1959 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 28 April 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 40th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Launceston, Tasmania, Australia, 7 July 1897 |
| Home Town: | Burnie, Burnie, Tasmania |
| Schooling: | Burnie State School, Tasmania, Australia |
| Occupation: | Produce buyer |
| Died: | Died of wounds, France, 13 May 1917, aged 19 years |
| Cemetery: |
Trois Arbres Cemetery, Steenwerck, Nord Pas de Calais Plot I, Row 1, Grave No. 3. HE DIED THE HELPLESS TO DEFEND AN AUSTRALIAN SOLDIER'S NOBLE END |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Burnie Mooreville Road School Roll of Honour, Burnie War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 28 Apr 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1959, 40th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Aug 1916: | Involvement Private, 1959, 40th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Hobart embarkation_ship: HMAT Ballarat embarkation_ship_number: A70 public_note: '' | |
| 8 Aug 1916: | Embarked Private, 1959, 40th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ballarat, Hobart | |
| 13 May 1917: | Involvement Corporal, 1959, 40th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 1959 awm_unit: 40th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Corporal awm_died_date: 1917-05-13 |
Help us honour Richard George Chalk's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
“One of the best lads that ever lived and a really brilliant lad.” Entry from his Roll of Honour form.
Richard was the son of George and Annie Chalk, of Burnie, Tasmania. He was only 19 years of age when he died of wounds.
His older brother, 4363 Lance Corporal Ernest Tasman Chalk 15th Battalion AIF was captured wounded by the Germans on 11 April 1917 at Bullecourt in France. He later returned to Australia in 1919.
Richard had been a Lieutenant in Cadets in Burnie before enlisting. He worked as a produce buyer for Cumming and Co., a successful fruit, grain and produce store, based in Burnie.
Richard was taken on strength of the 40th Battalion on the Western Front on New Years Eve 1916. He was mortally wounded during the Second Battle of Bullecourt on 9 May 1917. He died of a penetrating wound to the abdomen in the 2nd Australian Casualty Clearing Station four days later.
The North Western Advocate reported his death during June 1917. “Last Thursday Mr. A. G. Chalk received official news that his eldest son, Ernie T., was wounded and a prisoner of war at Dulmen, Germany; and last evening the Rev. A. V. Ballard had the painful duty of advising them that their second son, Corporal Richard George ('Dick'), had died of gunshot wounds on 13th May at the Second Australian Casualty Station. Prior to enlisting 'Dick' was employed by Messrs. Cumming and Co., Ltd., who appreciated his sterling worth, and he was deservedly popular amongst a large circle of friends. He was home on final leave for his 19th birthday. He left England for France on 3rd November, and his letters, from the front were always bright and cheery. The deepest sympathy is extended to Mr. and Mrs. Chalk and family in their hour of great bereavement.”
His parents submitted the following words to be engraved upon his headstone,
“He died the helpless to defend, An Australian soldier’s noble end.”
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