S3665
HAY, Reginald Alexander Bertram
| Service Number: | 1931 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 19 May 1915, Keswick, South Australia |
| Last Rank: | Sapper |
| Last Unit: | 2nd Signal Squadron |
| Born: | Mt Gambier, South Australia, September 1895 |
| Home Town: | Mount Gambier, Mount Gambier, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Mount Gambier High School |
| Occupation: | Postal Assistant |
| Died: | Suicide, Ardrossan, South Australia, 2 December 1934 |
| Cemetery: |
Ardrossan Cemetery, S.A. |
| Memorials: | Adelaide Officers of S.A. Post, Telegraph and Telephone Department Great War Roll of Honor, Mount Gambier High School Great War Roll of Honor, Mount Gambier St Andrew's Presbyterian Church Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 19 May 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1931, Keswick, South Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Sep 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 1931, 27th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Star of England embarkation_ship_number: A15 public_note: '' | |
| 21 Sep 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 1931, 27th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Star of England, Adelaide | |
| 15 Jul 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Sapper, 1931, 2nd Signal Squadron |
Help us honour Reginald Alexander Bertram Hay's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
News was received from Ardrossan yesterday of the death of Mr. R.A.B. Hay, the local Postmaster. His body, dressed in bathers, was found in a dressing shed near the jetty on Sunday.
Born at Mount Gambier 37 years ago, Mr. Hay entered the Postal Department upon leaving school, and was not 18 years of age when he enlisted in the Great War. After four years on active service, he returned to the Civil Service, and was stationed at Kalangadoo for about 15 years. About six months ago he was transferred to Ardrossan. News of his death caused genuine regret in the Kalangadoo and Mount Gambier districts.
Mr. Hay leaves a widow and two children. A report is being prepared for the Coroner at Ardrossan.
Ardrossan, Monday - The coroner (Mr. G. Clough) has decided not to hold an inquest into the death of Mr. R.A.B. Hay, aged 35, the local postmaster. Mr Hay was found in the dressing shed near the jetty on Saturday with a discharged shotgun lying close by.
The report for the coroner was prepared by Mounted Constable France. Mr. Hay left a wife and two children.
Biography contributed by Graeme Roulstone
1931 Reginald Alexander Bertram HAY was born at Mount Gambier on 4 October 1895. He was enrolled at Mount Gambier High School on 20 January 1908 by his father, John Hay, a farmer, of Wyatt Street, Mount Gambier. He left school on 16 February 1909.351 In 1911 he was listed as having passed the telegraph messengers’ examination.
He enlisted at Keswick, South Australia, on 19 May 1915 (19, postal assistant, single, Presbyterian) naming his mother, Mrs Ruth Hay of Wyatt Street, Mount Gambier, as his next of kin. He embarked from Adelaide on 21 September 1915 on the ‘Star of England’ and joined the 27th Battalion briefly in Egypt on 12 January 1916 before being transferred to the 2nd Division Signal Company on 26 February. Some of his service details appear to be missing from his National Archives file but it is recorded that he served at Pozieres, Flers, Bapaume, Bullecourt and Passchendaele, which were the main actions involving Australians throughout 1916 and 1917 on the Western Front. He left England from Liverpool for return to Australia on the ‘Khyber’ on 31 March 1919, disembarked at Adelaide on 9 May and was discharged on 15 July.
Biography contributed by John Edwards
"...1931 Private Reginald Alexander Bertram Hay, 14th Reinforcements, 27th Battalion, of Mount Gambier, SA. Pte Hay enlisted on 19 May 1915 and embarked from Adelaide aboard HMAT Star of England on 21 September 1915. He returned to Australia on 31 March 1919 as a member of the 2nd Divisional Signal Company." - SOURCE (www.awm.gov.au)
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