CORPSE, Arthur Herbert
| Service Number: | 226 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 11 March 1916, An original of A Company |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 36th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Hillgrove, New South Wales, Australia, 1894 |
| Home Town: | Dorrigo, Bellingen, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Hillgrove Public School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 5 April 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Dorrigo RSL Honor Roll, Dorrigo War Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 11 Mar 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 226, 36th Infantry Battalion, An original of A Company | |
|---|---|---|
| 13 May 1916: | Involvement Private, 226, 36th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Beltana embarkation_ship_number: A72 public_note: '' | |
| 13 May 1916: | Embarked Private, 226, 36th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Beltana, Sydney | |
| 5 Apr 1918: | Involvement Corporal, 226, 36th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 226 awm_unit: 36th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Corporal awm_died_date: 1918-04-05 |
Help us honour Arthur Herbert Corpse's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
His parents were Thomas Henry and Ada Derwent Corpse. The father, Thomas Henry Corpse was one of the pioneer settlers of the Dorrigo plateau. Dorrigo is about 60 kilometres inland from Coffs Harbour and is situated on an escarpment at a height of 730 meters. Their three eldest sons enlisted in the Great War.
The day before he died Arthur’s 36th Battalion played a major part in saving the town of Villers-Bretonneux, when at a crucial moment defending the town against the great German offensive, the Australian 36th Battalion dashed forward in a spectacular charge. Supported by other British and Australian infantry, and later by British cavalry, the 36th threw the Germans back to old trenches nearly two kilometres from the town, stabilising the line.
His brother, Frederick Corpse, died of meningitis in the Liverpool Camp 7 August 1915, and another Henry Ernest Corpse 1st Battalion won the MM later in 1918. A fourth and much younger brother, NX11172 Private Albert Corpse, enlisted for WW2 by reducing his age to be let into the Army. He was captured in Crete and was a Prisoner of War in Austria for 4½ years before returning home.