RITCHIE, Archibald William
| Service Number: | 2360 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 39th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Oct 1916: | Involvement Private, 2360, 39th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Port Lincoln embarkation_ship_number: A17 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1916: | Embarked Private, 2360, 39th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Port Lincoln, Melbourne |
Private Archibald ‘Archie’ William Ritchie (S/N. 2360)
Private Archibald ‘Archie’ William Ritchie (S/No. 2360)
Archie Ritchie enlisted on 25 June 1916 aged 18, in the 39th Infantry Battalion, joining them in France in April 1917. He was born in 1898 in Warrenheip, Victoria, the son of Archibald Ritchie (1864-1927) and Maria Littlehales. Archie missed the Unit’s first significant battle at Messines in Belgium in mid-June due to hospitalisation for four and a half months with venereal disease. He was discharged from hospital in time for the Battalion’s next significant engagement at Broodseinde, Belgium on 4 October 1917. Here he received a severe gunshot wound to his right leg causing a fracture. He was hospitalised in England at No. 1 Australian Auxiliary Hospital, Harefield Park before being repatriated back to Australia, arriving on 16 December 1917. He was discharged from the Army on 13 July 1918. The following year Archie married Vivian Dorthy Archibald and they had one son. Sadly, the marriage didn’t last as Archie and Vivian were divorced in 1926. Archie died in Hay, Victoria on 11 August 1941 at the age of 43 and is buried in the Ballarat cemetery.
Submitted 15 February 2024 by David Owens
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