PARKES, Reuben
| Service Number: | 1973 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 24 February 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Second Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 34th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Bexley, New South Wales, Australia, August 1879 |
| Home Town: | Newtown (NSW), Inner West, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Waiter |
| Died: | MG he was attacking, near Hangard Wood, France, 30 March 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
Hangard Communal Extension Cemetery Grave II. E. 13 INSCRIPTION HE GAVE HIS LIFE FOR KING AND COUNTRY AND NOW WE PRAY HE REST IN PEACE |
| Memorials: | Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 24 Feb 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1973, 53rd Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 14 Apr 1916: | Involvement Private, 1973, 53rd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '19' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Ceramic embarkation_ship_number: A40 public_note: '' | |
| 14 Apr 1916: | Embarked Private, 1973, 53rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ceramic, Sydney | |
| 29 Sep 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 34th Infantry Battalion | |
| 7 Jan 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 34th Infantry Battalion | |
| 13 Jul 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lance Sergeant, 34th Infantry Battalion, was already TCpl 20/6/1917 | |
| 30 Mar 1918: | Involvement Second Lieutenant, 34th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: awm_unit: 34th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Second Lieutenant awm_died_date: 1918-03-30 | |
| 2 Dec 1918: | Promoted AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 34th Infantry Battalion |
Help us honour Reuben Parkes's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Geoffrey Gillon
He was 39 and the son of Joseph and Caroline Parkes, of 30, Gilpin St., Newtown, New South Wales. Born at Bexley, New South Wales.
CWGC is in the process of producing a headstone to mark his grave. This casualty was previously commemorated on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial; his name will be removed when the appropriate panel is next replaced.
Biography contributed by Evan Evans
From François Berthout to Australia and New Zealand in WWI
102 years ago, on March 30, 1918, Second Lieutenant Reuben Parkes who fought in the 34th Australian infantry battalion was killed in action near Villers Bretonneux at the age of 39. Today I would like to give him a very respectful tribute🌺
Reuben Parkes was born in 1878 in Canterbury, New South Wales, Australia and he was the son of Joseph and Caroline Parkes and he was the husband of Charlotte Parkes whom he married in 1904 and they lived at 48 Reiby Street, Newtown, New South Wales. Before the war he worked as a waiter.
Reuben Parkes enlisted with the 3rd Reinforcements 53rd Battalion AIF on the 24th of February 1916 and embarked from Sydney on board HMAT A "Barambah" on the 23rd of June 1916 and disembarked at Plymouth, England on the 25th August. Reuben was transferred to the 34th Battalion AIF on the 23rd of September 1916 and proceeded overseas for France with the 34th Battalion on the 21st November 1916.
Not long after Private number 1973 Reuben Parkes was charged he was Promoted to Temporary Corporal on the 20th June 1917.He was again promoted to Lance Sergeant on the 5th of July 1917.Because of his promotion Reuben was marched to complete a General Course in the field on the 11th of July and was returned to England to attend Cadet School. He was admitted to hospital whist in England and returned to duty on the 20th of November.
Reuben was appointed Second Lieutenant on the 20th of December 1917 and posted to the general infantry reinforcements.He proceeded overseas via Southampton on the 7th january 1918 and disembarked at Havre, France to next day.Reuben was marched in to his unit on the 9th and taken on in strength on the 10th of january. He was detached from Training School from the 21st of january until the 12th of february
Unfortunately, a month later, on the night of March 29-30, 1918, during an attack on machine gun positions at Hangard Wood, south of Villers Bretonneux, Second Lieutenant Reuben Parkes was killed in action and his body was not found.
After the war, his name was inscribed and is still inscribed on the walls of the Villers Bretonneux memorial but in 2018, the location of his grave was precisely located by a group of investigators and historians and allowed his nephew, Roy Reuben, to pay tribute to his uncle who fell in 1918
Today, Second Lieutenant Reuben Parkes rests in peace at the Hangard Communal Cemetery Extension, Somme, he was 39 years old.
The Somme will not forget you Sir, it is with great honor that I honor your memory today, 102 years later we stand in front of you with respect and admiration. Today Australia and France are united by a very strong friendship and we do not forget all your comrades who shed their blood and who fall here, we will be eternally grateful to you for all that you have done here, for Australia, for France, for a better world.At the going down of the sun and in the morning,we will remember him,we will remember them🌺
archives:Australian National Archives.
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