WOOD, Harry Vasey
| Service Number: | Officer |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 16 July 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 29th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, March 1888 |
| Home Town: | Richmond (V), Yarra, Victoria |
| Schooling: | South Melbourne College, Melbourne University Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Dentist |
| Died: | Killed In Action, France, 2 March 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
Guards Cemetery, Lesboeufs, Picardie Plot VII, Row L, Grave No. 6 |
| Memorials: | Birregurra State School Roll of Honor, Box Hill (Shire of Nunawading) War Memorial, Forrest WWI Roll of Honour, Moonee Ponds Methodist Church HB, Shire of Nunawading Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 16 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, Officer, 29th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Aug 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 29th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '16' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Orsova embarkation_ship_number: A67 public_note: '' | |
| 1 Aug 1916: | Embarked 29th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Orsova, Melbourne |
Help us honour Harry Vasey Wood's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
Son of James Edwin and Marion Wood. Native of Ballarat, Victoria
LIEUTENANT H. V. WOOD.
Amongst the casualties in the latest list appears the name of Lieut. H. V. Wood, killed in action in France. Lieut. Wood, who was a promising young dentist, enlisted as a private in 1915. When a sergeant, he was sent to the Bendigo camp. He received his commission in March, 1916, and was then transferred to the 39th Battalion, then training at Ballarat.
Biography contributed by Evan Evans
From Natalie Stone, WWI Stories, Anzac Centenerary
Lt Harry Vasey Wood
Ballarat, Melbourne University
Harry Vasey Wood, known as Vasey, was born in Birregurra, Victoria, in 1888. He was the eldest child of James Edwin Wood and Marion Stocks. Vasey studies to become at dentist at Melbourne University, and went on to have his own dental practice in Moonee Ponds.
On 16 July 1915, Vasey enlisted to serve with the Australian Imperial Force. He was 27 years old. During training, he was promoted to Second Lieutenant, and was appointed to the 29th Battalion as the officer in charge of the 8th Reinforcement.
He departed from Melbourne on 1 August, 1916, on board the HMAT A67 Orsova. The Orsova arrived in Plymouth, England and the men spent some time training at Codford before departing for France.
The 8th Reinforcements joined the 29th Battalion during November 1916 near Gueudecourt, France in the region which formed part of the Western Front Battle of the Somme. The 29th Battalion moved in and out of the intermediate and frontline several times.
In December 1916, Vasey was promoted to Lieutenant. On 2 March 1917, Vasey was in charge of an attacking party near Gueudecourt. Sadly, he was seriously wounded and died on the way to the dressing station. He was nearly 29 years old.
Vasey was initially buried at Needle Dump, a temporary burial site close to where he died between Lesbœufs and Flers. After the war he was re-interred at Guards’ Cemetery, Lesbœufs.
Note from Geoff Crapper
In the space of two days research on my Woods/Wood ancestry I have discovered my Nan Clara Woods had two first cousins killed in WWI.
Here is the second of them Lt. Harry Vasey Wood, 29th Battalion killed in action near Gueudecourt, France on 2nd March 1917.
If my new information stacks up correctly his father James Edwin Wood (1856-1924) was a previously unknown uncle of my Nan Clara Woods.
Click images to start slideshow.