HENSHALL, Wallace
| Service Number: | 2510 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 54th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 30 Nov 1916: | Involvement Private, 2510, 54th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '19' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Aeneas embarkation_ship_number: A60 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 30 Nov 1916: | Embarked Private, 2510, 54th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Aeneas, Sydney |
Wallace Henshall
Born abt. 1897 in Alderley Edge, Manchester, England to Joseph Henshall & Florence Rea
He emigrated to Australia in 1912
A 19yo Drover, he enlisted in the AIF in Paramatta on 15 May 1916 & was allocated S/No. 2510 as Private with the 54th Battalion's, 5th Reinforcement
He embarked on 30 Sep 1916 arriving in England in Nov
He landed in France on 21 Dec & joined his battalion at the Buire Army Camp
He was wounded in action (first) at Morchies on 4 Apr 1917 suffering a gunshot wound to his left arm
He was wounded in action (second) at Glencorse Wood on 26 Sep 1917 suffering a shrapnel wound to his face during the battalions’ action in the Battle of Polygon Wood
While in England recovering from his wounds, he now 21, married Maud Bailey a 21yo spinster of Brook Lane, Lindow on 22 Jul 1918 – during which time, he was reported as AWL & later charged
He was wounded in action (third) at Anvil Wood on 1 Sep 1918 suffering a gunshot wound to his right thigh & shrapnel to the back of both legs & right foot during the battalions’ action in the Battle of Péronne where Alexander Buckley & Arthur Hall each earned their Victoria Cross
He was again sent to England for recovery where he was charged a few times throughout Dec, again for being AWL & as his son was born 9 months later in Sep 1919, he was likely of celebrating the end of the war with his new wife
He embarked for return to Australia on Christmas day 1918, arriving back in Australia in Feb 1919
He remained on strength of the AIF until being discharged on 5 Oct 1920
His son Geoffrey Henshall was born on 12 Sep 1919 in Bucklow, England & served as a submariner as S/No. D/SSX 22749 & was lost at sea on board HMS Syrtis (P241) when she was lost off Norway
**HMS Syrtis left Lerwick on 16 Mar 1944 for a patrol off the Norwegian coast. On 20 Mar she was ordered to an area near Bodo, some 70 miles inside the Arctic Circle. Two days later she sank the steamer Narvik with gunfire. On the 28th a signal was sent to Syrtis ordering her to return to Lerwick. This signal was never acknowledged & the submarine failed to return. German reports indicate the sinking of a submarine in the Bodo area at the time by shore batteries, but the most likely cause of her loss is a mine
Submitted 4 November 2024 by James Coleman
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