DUNSTAN, Hugh
| Service Number: | 5678 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 2 February 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | Army Service Corps (AIF WW1) |
| Born: | Quorn, South Australia, 3 October 1886 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Quorn, South Australia |
| Occupation: | Stockman |
| Died: | Motor Vehicle Accident, Near Port MacDonnell, South Australia, 2 December 1926, aged 40 years |
| Cemetery: |
Mount Gambier Lake Terrace Cemetery Section F, Plot 891 |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 2 Feb 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, 5678, 25th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Sep 1916: | Involvement Private, 5678, 25th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Clan McGillivray embarkation_ship_number: A46 public_note: '' | |
| 7 Sep 1916: | Embarked Private, 5678, 25th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Clan McGillivray, Brisbane | |
| 8 Jun 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Sergeant, 5678, Army Service Corps (AIF WW1) |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Paul Lemar
Hugh was the son of John Henry DUNSTAN & Catherine CLEMENS and was born on the 3rd of October 1886 in Quorn, SA.
His parents were married on Easter Monday, the 22nd of April 1878 in the Bible Christian Church, Castlemaine, Victoria.
His father was the son of John DUNSTAN of Mabe, Cornwall England.
His mother was the daughter of John CLEMENS & Catherine “Kitty” MITCHELL and was born in 1858 in Collingwood, VIC.
Hugh was the youngest child born into the family of 5 children.
His father was a builder.
Hugh and his siblings attended the Quorn Public School and after he completed his schooling he gained employment as a stockman in Toowoomba, QLD.
By 1913 his mother and brother Frank had moved to 47 Spofforth Street, Mosman, NSW.
His brother Frank enlisted into the 2nd Light Horse Brigade Train on the 16th of November 1914 (1139) and embarked Sydney on board HMAT A39 Port Macquarie on 21st of December 1914.
At the age of 30, Hugh enlisted into the 1st AIF on the 2nd of February 1916 Toowoomba, QLD and was allotted the service number 5678 and posted to the 11th Depot Battalion in Bells Paddock Camp, Enoggera.
He was then transferred to the 25th Battalion, 15th Reinforcements on the 5th of July.
Hugh embarked from Brisbane on board HMAT A46 Clan Macgillivray on the 7th of September 1916.
He served with the Army Mechanical Transport Service (AMTS) in England and after being hospitalised with Pneumonia he embarked from England on the 3rd of March 1919 on board HT Euripides, disembarking in Brisbane on the 1st of May.
Hugh was discharged from the AIF on the 8th of June 1919.
By late 1920 he was living in Lake Bonney, SA and was employed by the Irrigation Department.
Hugh had served with Frank Harry Stockdale (15004) in the AMTS in the war and Frank lived in Mt Gambier, so Hugh would often visit him.
Whilst in Mt Gambier he met a young lady, Miss Sarah Maude ANDERSON and they married on the 7th of November 1921 in St Andrews Presbyterian Manse, Mt Gambier, SA and Frank was his best man.
Their reception was held in the Caledonian Hall and then they left by train to Adelaide en route to their future home at Loveday.
Sarah was the daughter of Walter James ANDERSON & Eliza HOLT and was born on the 10th of June 1887 in Mt Gambier, SA.
They remained in Loveday until late 1924 when they moved to Naracoorte and Hugh was employed as a wool classer.
On Thursday the 2nd of December 1926 Hugh and 3 of his mates left Mt Gambier in the late afternoon for a fishing trip to Port MacDonnell.
They were in a small car and on their return they were ¾ of a mile past the Bellum Bellum Hotel, on the Bay Road, when both back tyres blew out simultaneously when they struck a rise in the road where new metal had been spread.
The car rolled and overturned and they were all thrown out of the car. His 3 companions suffered serious injuries, but sadly, Hugh was horribly crushed in the wreckage and was killed almost instantly.
Hugh was buried in the Lake Terrace Cemetery, Mt Gambier; Section F, Plot 891.
Military
At the age of 30, Hugh enlisted into the 1st AIF on the 2nd of February 1916 Toowoomba, QLD and was allotted the service number 5678 and posted to the 11th Depot Battalion in Bells Paddock Camp, Enoggera.
He listed his mother, of Neutral Bay, Sydney, as his next of kin.
He was then transferred to the 25th Battalion, 15th Reinforcements on the 5th of July.
Hugh embarked from Brisbane on board HMAT A46 Clan Macgillivray on the 7th of September 1916, disembarked in Plymouth on the 2nd of November and marched into the 7th Training Battalion in Rollestone.
Hugh was promoted to Lance Corporal on the 1st of December and then posted to No.4 Camp in Parkhouse 7 days later.
He was then transferred to the Australian Army Service Corps (AASC) on the 17th of December.
On the 1st of January 1917 he was detached from Parkhouse to Tidworth with the Army Mechanical Transport Service (AMTS) (UK) and was taken on strength with them on the 21st of February at Chelsea in Bhurtpore Barracks as a driver.
Hugh was promoted to Corporal on the 6th of March and then Sergeant on the 11th of July.
He remained here for all of his war service and on the 5th of November 1918 he suffered from Pneumonia and Sciatica and was admitted into the Tidworth Military Hospital.
After he spent Christmas 1918 in hospital recovering he was discharged on the 27th of December and marched into No.2 Command Depot in Weymouth for return to Australia on a special demobilisation order.
Hugh embarked from England on the 3rd of March 1919 on board HT Euripides, disembarking in Brisbane on the 1st of May.