GRENFELL, James Henry
| Service Number: | 4793 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 16 July 1915, Ballarat, Vic. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 59th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Tourello, Victoria, Australia, 16 July 1890 |
| Home Town: | Tourello, Ballarat North, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Tourello State School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 4 July 1918, aged 27 years |
| Cemetery: |
Mericourt-L'Abbe Communal Cemetery Extension Plot III, Row E, Grave No. 16, |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Clunes War Memorial, Tourello Walnut Grove Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 16 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 4793, 6th Infantry Battalion, Ballarat, Vic. | |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Mar 1916: | Involvement Private, 4793, 6th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '8' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Wiltshire embarkation_ship_number: A18 public_note: '' | |
| 7 Mar 1916: | Embarked Private, 4793, 6th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Wiltshire, Melbourne | |
| 15 Aug 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 59th Infantry Battalion, France | |
| 31 Oct 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 4793, 59th Infantry Battalion, 'The Winter Offensive' - Flers/Gueudecourt winter of 1916/17, GSW to left arm and thigh sustained near Flers. Evacuated to UK. Rejoined unit 9 February 1917. | |
| 24 Mar 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 4793, 59th Infantry Battalion, The Outpost Villages - German Withdrawal to Hindenburg Line, SW to left foot sustained at Beaumetz. Evacuated to hospital (France), Rejoined unit 21 April 1917. | |
| 26 Sep 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 4793, 59th Infantry Battalion, Polygon Wood | |
| 25 Apr 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 4793, 59th Infantry Battalion, Villers-Bretonneux | |
| 4 Jul 1918: | Involvement Private, 4793, 59th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 4793 awm_unit: 59th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1918-07-04 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Robert Wight
The Argus, Melbourne, Vic. - Saturday, 27 July 1918
"DIED ON SERVICE
GRENFELL. - Killed in action, 4th July, 1918, No. 4793, Private James Henry Grenfell, 59th Battalion, second son of Eliza and the late William Henry Grenfell, Chyrose, Tourello, and loving brother of Mrs. G. Giles, Jun., Jack, Mrs. Chris. Campbell, Millie, William and Richard, after being twice wounded, cousin of Private Richard Grenfell, No. 4794, 59th Battalion, who died of wounds received in France on October 30, 1916.
They were fighting for their country;
They answered duty's call,
Their friends, their homes, their comforts,
They sacrificed them all.
Not now, but in the coming years,
It may be in the better land,
We'll read the meaning of our tears,
And there, sometime, we'll understand.
So sadly missed.
-(Inserted by his loving mother, sisters, and
brothers.) "
Biography contributed by Robert Wight
James Henry Grenfell enlisted in the AIF at Ballarat on 16 July 1915, aged 25. He embarked overseas on 7 March 1916 and arrived in Egypt on 10 May. He departed Egypt on 21 June and landed at Marseilles on 30 June, where he was transferred and taken on strength of the 59th Battalion on 15 August 1916.
The battalion was manning the lines near Flers on 31 October 1916 when Pte Grenfell sustained gunshot wounds to his left arm and thigh. He was evacuated to hospital in England and re-joined the battalion in France on 9 February 1917.
Pte Grenfell was wounded for the second time when he sustained a shrapnel wound to his left foot at Beaumetz on 24 March 1917, during the German withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line. He was hospitalised in France and re-joined his unit on 21 April 1917.
The battalion was next engaged at the Battle of Polygon Wood on 26 September 1917 and then again at Villers-Bretonneux on 25 April 1918 during the German Spring Offensive.
On 4 July 1918 the battalion was engaged in a diversionary action north of the Somme during the Battle of Hamel, and it was here that Pte James Henry Grenfell was killed in action near Morlancourt, France.
He was buried at the Mericourt L’Abbe Communal Cemetery Extension three days later, on 7 July 1918.
Source: Extract from "Clunes War Memorial WW1" by Robert Wight, June 2022.
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