GARDNER, Edmund Horatio
| Service Number: | 4530 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 31st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 23 Dec 1916: | Involvement Private, 4530, 31st Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '16' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Demosthenes embarkation_ship_number: A64 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 23 Dec 1916: | Embarked Private, 4530, 31st Infantry Battalion, HMAT Demosthenes, Sydney |
The grandfather I never met
My maternal grandfather, Eddie’s war service record shows that he was 29 years, 4 months old when he enlisted on 18 October, 1916 in the Australian Imperial Force. He was a slight man, weighing 138 lbs (62.5 kg) and was 5’ 6” tall (170.7 cm), with a fair complexion, blue eyes and light brown hair.
His parents were Edmund Horatio and Jane Gardner (nee Fergusson), who ran the Rainbow Inn in Kilmarnock and had nine children (Tom, Cissy, Mary, Joe, Jean, Eddie, Willie, Jessie, and Henry).
Eddie trained as an accountant and in 1911 emigrated to Australia, eventually settling in Roma, Queensland. He was a Stock and Station Agent and worked in a building opposite the Royal Hotel, later taken over by McDonalds Stock & Station Agency.
He enlisted on 9 October 1916 and was part of the 12th group of reinforcements to the 31st Battalion to replace soldiers killed or wounded. The 31st Battalion was raised in Queensland in August 1915 and served in France. The 31st participated in many famous battles including the disastrous Battle of Fromelles losing half its strength (500+ casualties).
On 22 May 1917, Eddie was transferred to 4th Division into a machine gun company (still in the UK). Then on 7 September 1917 he proceeded to France as part of 24th Machine Gun Company (4th Division). Just six weeks later (on 20 October) a gas shell landed near him and he suffered its terrible effects and a slight shrapnel wound. This probably occurred near Zonnebeke in Belgium.
Transferred back to England for treatment, he suffered bronchitis and defective vision and was attached to the Australian Army Postal Corps on 15 July 1918, then the 24th Machine Gun Company on ceasing duty on 31 October 1918. He was discharged on 10 April 1919 medically unfit.
Eddie married Iris Ina Wieneke on 26 October 1923 and had issue Jean, Lorna (Diana) Fergusson (my mother), Gordon and Marnock. He died just six years later and his Commonwealth War Grave headstone, number 2591 is in Row 34 amongst a dozen returned soldiers in the Roma Cemetery. He was a member of Raphael Lodge, Roma from 12 June 1920 until his death. Lodge members attended his funeral. My mother was just four years old.
Gail Dodd (nee McGlashan)
Submitted 19 July 2024 by gail dodd
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