PIERCY, Harold Wilfred
| Service Number: | 5427 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 25 March 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 23rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Kew, Victoria, Australia, 1896 |
| Home Town: | Hawthorn, Boroondara, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Blackburn State School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Plumber |
| Died: | Killed in action, Bullecourt, France, 3 May 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 25 Mar 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 5427, 23rd Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Aug 1916: | Involvement Private, 5427, 23rd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '14' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Miltiades embarkation_ship_number: A28 public_note: '' | |
| 1 Aug 1916: | Embarked Private, 5427, 23rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Miltiades, Melbourne |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Harold Wilfred Piercy enlisted at the same time as his brother Leonard Walter Piercy and they were allotted consecutive regimental numbers in the 23rd Battalion. They had both attended Blackburn State School in Melbourne, and were associated with the Hawthorn district. The brothers left Melbourne together and arrived in England on 26 September 1916. They were sent to France and joined the 23rd Battalion on 2 December 1916.
They both took part in an attack on the Hindenberg line at Bullecourt on 3 May 1917, more famously known as ‘Second Bullecourt’. They were reported by an eye witness to have been in D Company together, when one brother was wounded during the advance and the other brother stopped behind to attend him, when both were destroyed by shell fire.
Both were reported missing in action and were not confirmed as killed in action until late 1917. The parents, Walter and Ada Charlotte Piercy, of Auburn, Victoria would have had a terrible period waiting for any news of their sons, and the same devastating finding of “killed in action” came for the brothers during January 1918. Neither has a known grave.
Harold was only 21 years of age, and Walter was 27 years old. They have almost identical service records. A death notice for the pair was placed in the Melbourne papers during January 1918.
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