Francis DE BOYNTON

DE BOYNTON, Francis

Service Numbers: 4544, 4544A
Enlisted: 21 August 1915
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: 13th Infantry Battalion
Born: Drake, New South Wales, Australia, 1896
Home Town: Drake, Tenterfield Municipality, New South Wales
Schooling: Not yet discovered
Occupation: Farmer
Died: Killed In Action, France, 9 August 1916
Cemetery: No known grave - "Known Unto God"
Memorials: Berry Honour Roll, Berry War Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France)
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World War 1 Service

21 Aug 1915: Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 4544, 1st Infantry Battalion
15 Jan 1916: Involvement Private, 4544, 1st Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: RMS Osterley embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: ''
15 Jan 1916: Embarked Private, 4544, 1st Infantry Battalion, RMS Osterley, Sydney
9 Aug 1916: Involvement Private, 4544A, 13th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 4544A awm_unit: 13 Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1916-08-09

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Biography contributed by Stephen Brooks

Francis was born in Drake, a small town about 45 kilometres east of Tenterfield in NSW near the Queensland border. In the 1890’s, Drake was a thriving mining and timber town with 14 hotels. Today it has a population of 350 people.

Francis, only 20 years of age, was reported to be a big man, six feet tall and over 13 stone in weight. He was taken on strength of the 13th Battalion in Egypt during the reorganisation of the AIF in early 1916. From his Red Cross files, the most reliable of eye witnesses state he was killed by shell fire in a trench called ‘Tom’s Cut” near Pozieres. His brother 476 Corporal William De Boynton 26th Battalion had been killed in action at Pozieres about 10 days before on 29 July 1916. A third brother 3132 Pte Arthur De Boynton 45th Battalion AIF was killed the next year at Messines in Belgium.

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