BETANCOR, Royce John
| Service Number: | 2578 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 17 July 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 60th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Carlton, Victoria, Australia, 31 August 1895 |
| Home Town: | South Melbourne, Port Phillip, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Eastern Road State School, South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Dental mechanic |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Fromelles, France, 19 July 1916, aged 20 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" V.C. Corner (Panel No 19) , Australian Cemetery, Fromelles, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, South Melbourne Great War Roll of Honor, V.C. Corner Australian Cemetery Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 17 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2578, Depot Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 27 Oct 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2578, 24th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '14' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ulysses embarkation_ship_number: A38 public_note: '' | |
| 27 Oct 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 2578, 24th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ulysses, Melbourne | |
| 26 Feb 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 60th Infantry Battalion | |
| 19 Jul 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2578, 60th Infantry Battalion, Fromelles (Fleurbaix) |
Help us honour Royce John Betancor's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
From How We Served
2578 Private Royce John Betancor had been employed as a dental mechanic, of Albert Park, Victoria, when he enlisted for War Service with the 1st AIF on the 2nd of August 1915.
Royce had originally put his age up from 19 to 21, so as to avoid needing his parent's consent to join up, and by August he had attempted to enlist twice before being found out by his family and reported to the authorities, which soon discharged him.
On his third attempt Royce was allocated to reinforcements bound for the 24th Battalion, 1st AIF and embarked for Egypt and further training on the 27th of October 1915.
Following his safe arrival Royce was disembarked, and he was soon transferred over to the newly formed 60th Battalion at Tel El Kabir on the 22nd of February 1916, and by May he was on his way to France, where his Unit arrived in early June.
Within the month of landing in Northern France Royce, with his Battalion, was moved up to the line opposite Fromelles, and on the 19th of July 1916, Royce was declared Missing in Action during the failed battle that followed.
A Regimental Court of Enquiry later held, determined Royce had been killed in action on the 19th of July some 200 meters from the jumping off trench, and although his dog tag was recovered, his actual whereabouts remained unknown. He had been aged 20.
Following the end of the War Royce's name was officially added to the VC Corner Memorial, at Fromelles, where those Australians whose death occurred during the fighting of the 19th - 20th July 1916, but their remains were not known to have been recovered from the battlefield, are collectively recorded.
Back home in Australia Royce's grieving family had his supreme sacrifice made during the 'Great War' privately memorialized at the family's collective burial point within Coburg General Cemetary, Victoria.
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