CASTLE, Harold
| Service Number: | 2141 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 8 May 1916, Bathurst, NSW |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 54th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia, 19 March 1896 |
| Home Town: | Blayney, Blayney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Porter |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 15 May 1917, aged 21 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Blayney Christ Church War Memorial, Blayney Pictorial Honour Roll No 1, Blayney War Memorial Gates, Blayney and Milthorpe District Roll of Honor, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 8 May 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2141, 54th Infantry Battalion, Bathurst, NSW | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Aug 1916: | Involvement Private, 2141, 54th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '19' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Boorara embarkation_ship_number: A42 public_note: '' | |
| 19 Aug 1916: | Embarked Private, 2141, 54th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Boorara, Sydney |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
Harold CASTLE was the younger of two brothers who worked for the NSWGR&T and who were both killed in action in WW I. They were sons of William Alfred and Rachel Castle and their family home was in Maria St, Blayney, NSW. Harold was born on 19 March 1896 at Bathurst, NSW.
He joined the NSWGR&T as a junior porter in the Eskbank District of the Railways Traffic Branch on 11 March 1912. On 19 December 1913 he was dismissed for ‘being found to be improperly in the lavatory attached to the Ladies Waiting Room at Blayney in company with young girls’. However, on 20 July 1914 he was employed again, but as a Gatekeeper in the Eskbank District of the Railways Traffic Branch. On 16 August 1915 he became a junior porter once more and on 7 May 1916 he was granted leave to join the AIF.
Submitted 21 May 2023 by John Oakes
Biography contributed by John Oakes
Harold CASTLE was the younger of two brothers who worked for the NSW Government Railways Tramways. Tragically, both killed were in action in WW I. They were sons of William Alfred and Rachel Castle. Their family home was in Maria St, Blayney, NSW. Harold was born on 19th March 1896 at Bathurst, NSW.
He joined the NSWGR&T as a junior porter in the Eskbank District of the Railways Traffic Branch on 11th March 1912. On 19 December 1913 he was dismissed for ‘being found to be improperly in the lavatory attached to the Ladies Waiting Room at Blayney in company with young girls’. He was emplyed again on 20th July 1914. This time he was employed as Gatekeeper in the Eskbank (Lithgow) District of the Railways Traffic Branch. On 16th August 1915 he became a junior porter again. On 7th May 1916 he was granted leave to join the AIF.
Harold joined the AIF on 8th May 1916, with the rank of Private (Service Number 2141). He was posted to the 4th Reinforcements to the 54th Infantry Battalion. He nominated his father as his next of kin.
He embarked aboard HMAT A42 ‘Boorara’ at Sydney on19th August 1916. He reached Plymouth in England on 13th October 1916. After a period with the 14th Training Battalion he left England for France on 14th December 1916. He spent just over a week at the 5th Australian Division Base Depot before joining the 54th Infantry Battalion on 24th December 1916.
He was admitted to hospital on 16th March 1917 suffering from trench feet. He returned to duty on to 4th April 1917.
On 15th May 1917, he was killed in action at Bullecourt. He is commemorated at the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France.
- based on notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
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