Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Captain David Arthur Prentice was the second oldest of five children of Scottish immigrants David Prentice and his wife Margaret Newbigging, a first cousin. Their families emigrated in 1853 and settled in Victoria, with Margaret being born on the voyage to Australia.  

Shortly after his birth in 1880 the family moved to New South Wales where his father took up a position as a police constable, serving at Raymond Terrace, before being appointed at Morpeth. David Arthur Prentice became a Pupil Teacher at the Hinton Public School in 1897. In 1900 he moved to East Maitland Public School and subsequently taught on a probationary basis at several small rural schools in the lower Hunter Valley. His appointment as a teacher was confirmed in February 1903 and in 1904, he was assigned to Gloucester. By 1906, he was in the Denman area of the Upper Hunter teaching at Baerami, Mount Dangar and Denman Public Schools. The public instruction system of the time, governed by teacher classifications, school size and marital status, gave rise to a nomadic existence and his regular movement from school to school.

In 1907, his father retired from the police force to Tenambit, between Morpeth and East Maitland, establishing an orchard on a small holding he named ‘Edderston’.

Before war broke out in 1914 David Prentice had moved to the Dungog area, being appointed to the Wards River Public School, and was well known in tennis and cricket circles. He enlisted in July 1915 and listed his next of kin as his father and the family property at ‘Edderston’, Tenambit as his address. He then went to Warwick Farm for training and there was appointed Corporal in the pay section of the 2nd Depot Battalion, followed by promotion to Quartermaster-Sergeant and then Regimental Quartermaster-Sergeant. It was during this period that his intertest and skill in the management of stores and equipment came to the fore – a role that he would fulfill with credit during the war. Sent to Liverpool and then Broadmeadow, Newcastle, he became a warrant officer. Regimental Sergeant Major David Prentice sailed from Sydney on June 13, 1915. On arrival in England he gained his commission as a Second Lieutenant in 'Carmichael's 1000' - the 36th Battalion.

After front line service with the 36th during 1916 and at Messines in 1917 he was promoted Lieutenant before being transferred to the 35th Battalion as its Quartermaster. In late 1918 he was promoted honorary Captain. After the Armistice Captain Prentice remained in France supporting the repatriation of troops until May 1919, before crossing to England for return to Australia.

Despite his teaching position at Wards River being retained after returning from active service, he took up employment with the Department of Lands in Sydney administering the Returned Soldiers Settlement scheme. In March 1920 he married Kathleen Spalding at Paddington and, returning to teaching, was appointed to Richmond Hill Public School near Lismore. The couple would have two children, a daughter born in Lismore in 1922 and later a son.

By 1925 David Prentice and his family had returned to the Hunter, with his appointment to Eccleston Public School. In January 1927 he transferred to Somersby Public School on the NSW central coast near Gosford, holding the position of headmaster at the school for the next nineteen years until his retirement. Tragedy struck in 1931, when his three years old son drowned after falling into a well in the family’s back yard at Point Frederick – a few years later the family moved to a new home at East Gosford.

A public-spirited man, David Prentice, apart from his role as an educator and his interest in sport, was heavily involved in the Gosford Horticultural Society having grown floral blooms from his early days whilst teaching at small schools.  He was also very prominent in local return soldier organisations and the masonic movement.

Captain David Arthur Prentice, late 35th Battalion AIF died at Gosford on 23 May 1956. His wife, Margaret survived him, passing away in 1975.