REILLY, Guthrie Wilberforce
| Service Number: | 5448 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 31 January 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 26th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Burwood, NSW, 26 January 1885 |
| Home Town: | Lismore, Lismore Municipality, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Glebe State Public School & Hawkesbury Agricultural College, New South Wale |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Villers-Brettoneux, Picardie, France, 8 August 1918, aged 33 years |
| Cemetery: |
Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Richmond University of Western Sydney WW1 Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 31 Jan 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1 | |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Aug 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 5448, 26th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Itonus embarkation_ship_number: A50 public_note: '' | |
| 8 Aug 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 5448, 26th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Itonus, Brisbane | |
| 8 Aug 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Corporal, 5448, 26th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 5448 awm_unit: 26th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Corporal awm_died_date: 1918-08-08 |
Help us honour Guthrie Wilberforce Reilly's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography
Guthrie was the youngest son of Robert Young Reilly and Sarah Ann Wheeler born on 26 January 1885 in Canterbury, NSW. One of five children he attended Glebe State Public School before studying at the Hawkesbury Agricultural College. He then commenced work as a farmer on his fathers property at Goolmangar via Lismore.
After the defeat at Gallipoli the war shifted to Europe to halt the occupying forces. The sentiment of those times is expressed in in a letter written by the Minister for Recruiting attached to Guthries service record. “Today recruits are most seriously needed. Britain is doing her best. France is pressed in a vice like grip. Americas weight is not yet felt. The Prime Minister of Great Britain has asked us to reinforce our troops “In the fullest possible manner and with the least possible delay”. The King himself has added his appeal to that of Mr. Lloyd George . Will you help the government to obtain the necessary men?. Next year may be too late. Australias' honour and Australias very existence are at stake. Will you help her in her hour of need?. You are urgently requested to assist by using your personal influence, by platform speaking, or by any other means which may be in your power. If you are willing to help will you please communicate with me at once”.
Guthrie heeded the call to arms and left the farm to fight for his country. He enlisted into the AIF at Lismore on 31st. January 1916 as a private into the 26th. Australian Infantry Battalion 14th. Reinforcements. He embarked the HMAT Itonus A50 at Brisbane on 8th. August 1916 and disembarked at Plymouth 18 October 1916. Marched into the 7th. Training Battalion upon arrival before proceeding to France aboard the SS Victoria in early December1916.
The 26th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Originally raised in April 1915 for service in World War 1 as part of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF), it was assigned to the 7th. Brigade and consisted of personnel recruited from the states of Queensland and Tasmania. The battalion fought at Gallipoli in the latter stages of that campaign before their evacuation to Egypt in late 1915 where a further period of training followed. The 7th Brigade returned to the command of the 2nd Division and in March 1916, after a brief period of defensive duties around the Suez Canal were amongst the first Australian troops deployed to the Western Front. For the next two and a half years they fought in a number of major Australian battles at the Western Front running through France and Belgium
On 14th.December that year he marched into the 2nd. Division Base at Etaples before proceeding to his unit on the Western Front three days later. On the 29th. April 1917 he received a gunshot wound to the left thigh and was admitted to the 9th. General Hospital. The injury required him to be transferred to the Red Cross Hospital at Sherbourne in England on the 13th. May from where he was sent to the Monastry at Westanton to convalesce. On the 17th. July he was pronounced “temporarily unfit for general service for more than 6 months and unfit for home service”. It is noted on the 11th. August that” he now has an open wound beneath his left buttock that will be sometime healing”. His condition gradually improved and he returned to France on 28th. November 1917 before rejoining his battalion ten days later. After being detached to the Division Bomb School for one week in late December he returned to his unit on the 5th.January 1918.
In 1918, the 7th Brigade undertook a defensive role during the German Spring Offensive fighting around Villers-Bretonneux before taking part in the Hundred Days Offensive. On 8th. August 1918 Guthrie was killed in action at Villers-Bretonneux in France aged 33. For his part in the war he was awarded the Victory medal, British War medal and the 1914/15 Star posthumously. He is buried at Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetry No.2, Plot XII, Row C, Grave 108 in Villers-Bretonneux , Picardie, France.
His sister Maud inserted the following words in the local paper ”he did his duty as a man is bound to do”. which perhaps is a reflection of the man himself.
Click images to start slideshow.