GAFFNEY, Robert Emmett
| Service Numbers: | 6327, 6327A |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 October 1916, Blackboy Hill, WA |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 28th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Clunes, Victoria, Australia, 1876 |
| Home Town: | Laverton, Laverton, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Pipe Fitter |
| Memorials: | Clunes Soldiers Pictorial Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Oct 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 6327, 27th Infantry Battalion, Blackboy Hill, WA | |
|---|---|---|
| 23 Dec 1916: | Involvement Private, 6327, 27th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Berrima embarkation_ship_number: A35 public_note: '' | |
| 23 Dec 1916: | Embarked Private, 6327, 27th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Berrima, Fremantle | |
| 12 Jun 1917: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 28th Infantry Battalion, France. Prefix A added to SN. | |
| 20 Sep 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 6327A, 28th Infantry Battalion, Menin Road | |
| 9 Oct 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 6327A, 28th Infantry Battalion, Battle of Poelcapelle | |
| 9 Apr 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 6327A, 28th Infantry Battalion, German Spring Offensive 1918 | |
| 8 Jan 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 6327A, 28th Infantry Battalion, RTA 23 September 1918 and discharged as MU (illness). |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Robert Wight
Brother: 2822 Pte Ritson Miles GAFFNEY, 44th Bn, returned to Australia, 3 September 1919.
Biography contributed by Robert Wight
Robert Emmett Gaffney, aged 40, enlisted in the AIF at Blackboy Hill on 20 October 1916. He embarked overseas on 23 December and arrived in England on 16 February 1917, where he spent the next three months training at Rollestone in Wiltshire.
He departed England and arrived in France on 23 May 1917, where he was transferred to the 28th Battalion on 12 June 1917. The battalion moved to Belgium in late 1917 and was involved in the last phases of the Battle of Menin Road on 20 September, and at Poelcappelle on 9 October 1917.
Following the German Spring Offensive in March 1918, the battalion again moved south to France and was involved in the later stages of the allied defence around Dernancourt from 8 April 1918.
Pte Gaffney sustained an injury to his left hand on 10 June 1918 and was admitted to the County of Middlesex War Hospital in London four days later. He recovered from his injury and was discharged from hospital on 10 July.
At some stage he developed psoriasis and was deemed medically unfit for further service as a result. He left England on 23 September 1918 and arrived in Melbourne on 26 November 1918, where he was discharged from the AIF on 8 January 1919.
Source: Extract from "Clunes Soldiers Memorial Panel" by Robert Wight, June 2022.
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