Howard Bentley SLATER

SLATER, Howard Bentley

Service Number: 4576
Enlisted: 1 September 1915
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: 10th Infantry Battalion
Born: Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, 15 April 1893
Home Town: Adelaide, South Australia
Schooling: Flinders Street Public School, Adelaide, South Australia
Occupation: Compositor
Died: Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, 7 February 1925, aged 31 years, cause of death not yet discovered
Cemetery: AIF Cemetery, West Terrace Cemetery, Adelaide, South Australia
Section: LO, Road: 7S, Site No: 8
Memorials: Thebarton E.S. Wigg & Son Ltd. WW1 Pictorial Roll of Honor
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World War 1 Service

1 Sep 1915: Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 4576, 10th Infantry Battalion
7 Feb 1916: Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 4576, 10th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Miltiades embarkation_ship_number: A28 public_note: ''
7 Feb 1916: Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 4576, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Miltiades, Adelaide
1 Oct 1917: Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 4576, 10th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, Shell wound in field
1 Oct 1917: Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 4576, 10th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres
15 Nov 1918: Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 4576, 10th Infantry Battalion, Found medically unfit after wounding.

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Biography contributed by Saint Ignatius' College

Howard Bentley Slater

Private Howard Bentley Slater, whose service number was 4567, was an Australian soldier in the First World War. He enlisted into the 10th Infantry Battalion in 1915 and was headed to the Western Front in 1916. He was discharged from the army in 1918 when he got a shell wound in his right arm and was medically unfit to serve. Like most of his battalion, Howard was from South Australia and embarked from Adelaide.

Life before WW1

On the 15th of April 1893, Howard Slater was born to Mrs Lillian E Slater and Mr Richard Slater at Mount Barker. He was educated at a school in the Adelaide CBD called Flinders Street Public School till he started a 4 year apprenticeship as a compositor. Based on the average compositor of the time, it can be inferred that his job was to organize content in a newspaper in a way that it will most engage readers. However, if he enlisted on the 1st of November 1915 at the age of 22, he would only have been able to do this for a few years before going off to war.

Training

After some basic training in Adelaide, Howard proceeded to Egypt to complete a final round of training for 3 months. The aim of this training was to develop physical fitness and confidence as well as instil obedience and discipline. The soldiers would parade and learn how to march. They would also do things like shine boots and clean kit. After a few weeks of this basic training, they would move on to more tactical training. They would learn basic movement on the field and route marching. Then they would learn to dig trenches, to handle weapons and basic marksmanship. Once a soldier showed basic competency in his training, he would be sent to a battalion in the next reinforcement of new recruits. Howard was a part of the 13th – 23rd reinforcements of the 10th battalion.

Involvement during the war

After enlisting, he embarkedfrom Australia on the 7th of February 1916 on board HMAT A28 Miltiades and eventually arrived in France on 30th July 1916. At the western front, he was an infantry man in the trenches. This meant that he was in the British trenches guarding the Allied forces’ territory. Howard served on the Western front for about 4 months before he got sick in the field with trench feet. On the 13th of November 1916 he was admitted to Southern General Hospital in Wareham, England to treat his trench feet and also a minor injury to his hand.

After being discharged from hospital, he came back to France and rejoined his unit on 14th July 1917. He took part in the Third Battle of Ypres and was badly wounded on 1st October 1917. A piece of shell was lodged in his right arm and on the 12th of October he embarked on a hospital ship called the “St. Andrew” for Chichester, where the Graylingwell hospital (a psychiatric asylum) had been repurposed as a war hospital. It was here that doctors operated on him and filed his medical report while he was recovering. However, after medically examining him after he’d made a recovery, they concluded his damage was permanent which left him unfit for service. He embarked for Australia on 5th April 1918 and on the 15th of October 1918, he was handed his official discharge.

Life after war

After the war, Howard received two medals: the British war medal and the Victory medal. These were medals for participation in the war. After making his return to Adelaide, Howard got married to Ms. Nellie Adelaide Richardson. However, he died of an illness at the age of 31. He was buried in an AIF cemetery on West terrace in Adelaide. 

Howard’s service in the war was an avid reflection of the Anzac spirit. He displayed amazing selflessness, strong resilience and bravery. He was selfless enough to enlist and serve his nation in war. This was at the risk of his own life and he and he knew this going in. To get wounded so severely and then come home and try to live a happy life shows real resilience. He would have faced many hardships such as shell shock and unemployment but he was still able to find love and happiness, even if it was short lived. You do not get wounded cowering away in trenches. This is why he must have made a courageous attempt to fight the enemy soldiers which put him out in the open. He truly set an example of the Anzac spirit that few others could.

 

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