LACEY, James Richard Joseph
| Service Number: | 54944 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 23 February 1918, Senior Cadets, 72B Battalion (4 years) |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 5th Division Medium and Heavy Trench Mortar Batteries, AIF |
| Born: | South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 7 August 1899 |
| Home Town: | Eurambeen, Pyrenees, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farm labourer |
| Died: | Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, 5 July 1933, aged 33 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
West Wallsend General Cemetery, NSW Grave location currently not accurately known |
| Memorials: | South Melbourne Great War Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 23 Feb 1918: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 54944, 59th Field Artillery Battery , Senior Cadets, 72B Battalion (4 years) | |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Jun 1918: | Involvement Private, 54944, 1st to 17th (VIC) Reinforcements, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '20' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: RMS Orontes embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 5 Jun 1918: | Embarked Private, 54944, 1st to 17th (VIC) Reinforcements, RMS Orontes, Sydney | |
| 24 Apr 1920: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 54944, 5th Division Medium and Heavy Trench Mortar Batteries, AIF, 3rd MD |
Help us honour James Richard Joseph Lacey's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
Gary Mitchell, Australia and NZ in WWI
A special post for a special friend.
87 years ago today, on the Friday afternoon of the 7th July 1933, Private James Richard Joseph Lacey, 5th Divisional Train, Medium Trench Mortar Battery, Australian Army Service Corps, was laid to rest at the Catholic portion of Wallsend Cemetery, New South Wales, age 33.
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article135087917 - funeral notice states service.
Mr Lacey’s Granddaughter, Vicki M Blackman, contacted me about the fate of this 1st A.I.F. soldier, who is resting in an unmarked grave, and has provided a family history and photos.
Born on the 7th August 1899 at South Melbourne to parents James Lacey Snr (1861 London Eng.) and Clara Lucas nee Wain (1867 Launceston Tas).
Clara was previously married to Edward Lucas in 1889 and two children were born – Herbert & Elsie. Edward was killed in an unfortunate tram accident in 1894. Clara met and married James Lacey Snr in 1895 and two more children – Dora (1897) & James (Aug 7, 1899) were born.
Sadly, James Snr died 1900 from Tuberculosis and Clara passed away in 1901 from Uterine Cancer, leaving four children under 10 years of age. Other family were unable to accommodate the children and they were all placed in the Neglected Children & Reformatory School in Flinders Street Melbourne. As each child reached the age of five, they were sent out into the community to work for families on a contract basis.
When James reached the age of eighteen he was released from the School. He joined the Army in February 1918 and served with the 58th Battalion 5th Train Division in France, and at the end of the war, James spent time in a British hospital recovering from melancholia, and returned home January 1920, being discharged as medically unfit 24th April 1920.
Moving to Newcastle to work on the Railway as a Shunter in 1921, he met and married Mary Susannah Folpp in 1926 at Islington, N.S.W. Two daughters were born – Dorothy & Aileen.
James passed away on July 5, 1933 and is resting in the Roman Catholic portion of the Wallsend Cemetery in an unmarked grave. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has been unable to locate the grave unfortunately, but if anyone has any information that may assist in locating James’s grave, please contact Gary Mitchell.
An application for a Commonwealth War Graves Plaque, kerbing and marble chip was submitted to the Australian War Graves May 2018, and this was accepted. Unfortunately, due to the difficulty of positively identifying the location of Mr Lacey’s unmarked grave, a Memorial Plaque was placed at the New South Wales Garden of Remembrance, Rookwood Cemetery, Sydney August 2018.
An individual Memorial Plaque was also installed February 2019 at The Capt. Clarence Smith Jeffries (V.C.) and Pte. William Matthew Currey (V.C.) Memorial Wall, located within the grounds of the cemetery.
If Mr Lacey’s unmarked grave is ever located, this gravesite will be officially commemorated, and the Plaque will be removed from the Garden of Remembrance.
The dead are only ever truly forgotten when they are spoken of no more, we thank you Mr Lacey for your service and sacrifice.
Lest We Forget.
Click images to start slideshow.