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War Memorial
Australia

Harold was the son of Walter James BERRY & Mary Elizabeth ROBJOHNS and was born on the 23rd of December 1896 in the family home at 54 Amherst Avenue, Norwood, SA (now Trinity Gardens).

His parents were married on the 1st of January 1896 at the residence of Mary’s parents in East Moonta, SA.

His father was the son of Joseph Barclay BERRY & Mary Ann SIMPSON and was born on the 14th of February 1860 in Tinpot, SA.
His mother was the daughter of Charles John Drake ROBJOHNS & Elizabeth MACHIN and was born on the 28th of April 1868 in Adelaide, SA.

Harold was the eldest child born into this family of 6 children.

His father was a carpenter and had previously married Clara Graham ALLEN on the 23rd of September 1885 at the residence of Clara’s parents in Maylands, SA.

Clara was a very sick lady and to meet costs he had worked as a carpenter on the construction of the Exhibition Building and had a newspaper round.
They had 3 children before Clara died of Tuberculosis on the 7th of May 1893 and was buried in the Payneham Cemetery.

His father was also the Trustee for Maylands Methodist Church and in 1906 his mother purchased the home next door at 56 Amherst Avenue and named the property “Mayfair”.

Harold attended the Norwood Public School and gained employment as a Leadlight worker with Thompson & Harvey LTD in Adelaide.

At the age of 18, Harold enlisted into the AIF on the 21st of July 1915 in Keswick, SA and was allotted the service number 41 and posted to K Group, Base Infantry Depot.
His mother gave her consent for him to enlist.

He was then transferred to the 32nd Battalion, A Company and embarked from Adelaide on board the troopship HMAT Geelong on the 18th of November.
He served in Egypt, France and England and awarded the French Croix de Guerre.

After the was he attended a Course of Designing, Glass Embossing & Leadlight manufacturing at the Edinburgh College of Art, which he completed on the 7th of July.

Whilst in Scotland he met a young lady, Miss Isabella Smith CRIBBES.

Harold embarked for home on the 18th of October 1919 on board HT Morea, disembarked in Adelaide on the 26th of November and was discharged from the AIF on the 26th of January 1920.

He then purchased a home in Fenton Avenue, Christies Beach but obviously his relationship with Isabella had blossomed and he returned to Scotland and gained employment as a Commercial Sales Engineers.

Harold married Isabella on the 26th of February 1923 in Edinburgh.
Isabella was the daughter of George CRIBBES & Agnes LAMB and was born in 1897 in Edinburgh, Scotland.
He sold his home in Australia the following month and they made their first home at 1 Glencairn Crescent, Edinburgh.
They welcomed their first child; Harold George, on the 19th of June 1923 and they then moved to 32 Netherby Road, Edinburgh.

Walter James Robert was then born on the 26th of October 1929 and the following year they moved to Boswall Avenue, Edinburgh and later their eldest son attended the Daniel Stewart’s College in Edinburgh.

They then moved to Warriston Place, Edinburgh and then sadly, Isabella died on the 22nd of April 1935 in Edinburgh, Scotland and Harold cremated her 2 days later.

By January 1936 Harold and his 2 sons had moved to Inverleith Cottage, Ferry Road West, Edinburgh.
Harold then decided to move back to South Australia and they arrived on the 9th of December 1936 on board the Esperance Bay.

On the 28th of January 1937, his mother transferred the home at 56 Amherst Avenue to Harold, he gained employment as an Electric Sales Engineer and his sons later attended Norwood High School.

Harold married Euphemia Viola Dymond Orchard MITCHELL nee ALLEN on the 11th of December 1937 in the Christian Church, Stepney, SA.
Euphemia was the daughter of William ALLEN & Frances Priscilla BUDGE and was born on the 1st of November 1898 in Maylands, SA.
Euphemia was previously married to Harold George Thomas MITCHELL on the 15th of February 1927 in the Christian Church in Stepney.
They had 2 children; Geoffrey G & Viola B, before Harold died on the 9th of May 1934 in Melbourne.

With the outbreak of WW2, his brother William enlisted on the 21st of June 1940 and served with the 2/48th Battalion before he discharged and joined the RAAF.

Then, aged 43, Harold enlisted CMF on the 29th of April 1940 in Keswick, SA and was allotted the service number S213289 and posted to the Infantry Training Depot at Cheltenham with the rank of Captain.

He attended the Instructional Course at Victoria Park and was then detached to the Recruit Reception Depot in Wayville.
He was then transferred to the Military Training School Headquarters, in command.

His son Harold enlisted into the 2nd AIF on the 16th of May 1941 (SX12814) and then later enlisted into the RAAF (443016).

On the 17th of July 1942 Harold was discharged from the CMF and enlisted into the 2nd AIF, the following day and was allotted the service number SX20555.
He was then posted to the MVTTC (Motor Vehicle Trades Training Centre) before being posted to the Recruit Reception Depot & General Details Depot Headquarters.

His other brother; Leslie enlisted into the RAAF on the 30th of January 1943 (122077).
Harold was discharged from the 2nd AIF on the 1st of November 1945.

They sold the family home in 1955 and moved to 7 Quintus Terrace, Dover Gardens.

Harold died on the 11th of June 1980 and was buried in the Hindmarsh Cemetery; Section Upper, E22 3.

Military

WW1

At the age of 18, Harold enlisted into the AIF on the 21st of July 1915 in Keswick, SA and was allotted the service number 41 and posted to K Group, Base Infantry Depot.
He listed his mother, of 54 Amherst Avenue, as his next of kin and she gave her consent for him to enlist.

On the 16th of August he was transferred to the newly raised 32nd Battalion, A Company in Mitcham Camp, as part of the 8th Brigade.
While 'A' and 'B' Companies were made up of recruits from South Australia, 'C' and 'D' Companies were formed in Perth and underwent their training at the Blackboy Hill Training Camp.
Then on the 16th of September the Battalion moved to Cheltenham Race Course Camp and attended their Musketry Training in Pt Adelaide.

The 2 Western Australia Companies then sailed on the transport HMAT Indarra and joining the rest of the Battalion in Cheltenham Camp on the 30th of September.
On Friday Evening, the 8th of October, Harold was granted leave to attend a farewell social for the employees of Thompson & Harvey.

Amidst a scene of unparalleled enthusiasm, Harold and the 32nd Battalion of Infantry, under Colonel Coghill, embarked on board the troopship HMAT Geelong at the Outer Harbour on Thursday the 18th of November.

Long before the vessel was ready to sail the wharf was besieged by friends of the troop, anxious to say farewell and to give the brave boys a fitting send-off on their mission to fight the Empire's battles on foreign soil.
The whole scene as the hour of departure approached was a never-to-be-forgotten picture. Thousands of people congregated at the wharf side, and the interim of waiting between embarkation and the moving off of the great ship was occupied in the passage of messages and parting gifts, in the singing of patriotic songs, and cheers for the Empire.

Whilst at sea the Battalion practiced close bayonet fighting and held boxing matches.
Unfortunately, after one of the boxing matches, Private Alfred Ernest BRIDGER died of shock, brought on by exhaustion, on the 7th of December 1915 and they buried him at sea.

On the 14th of December they arrived at Pt Suez at 5am, disembarked 4 days later and entrained to Moascar Camp and pitched their tents.
Four days later they took over El Ferdan Post from the 33rd Punjabis and they spent their first Christmas here.
They then moved to Ismailia on the 21st of January 1916 and after 2 weeks of training they marched out to Moascar Station and entrained to Tel-el-Kebir.
Then on the 23rd of March they entrained for Ismailia and marched to Ferry Post and relieved the Auckland Battalion on Garrison duty.

They were relieved 7 days later by the 55th Battalion and marched to Duntroon Plateau for further training for 15 days before marching back to Ferry Post.
On the 27th of May Harold suffered from Tonsillitis and was admitted into the 15th Australian Field Ambulance and then the 14th Australian Field Ambulance.
During this time his Battalion had marched out to Moascar Camp for Brigade Training on the 28th of May and Harold rejoined his Battalion here, on the 1st of June.

Then on the 16th they entrained for Alexandria and embarked on board the Transylvania and sailed for France on the 17th.
They arrived 6 days later in Marseilles and entrained for Hazebrouckand 2 days later they detrained at Steenbecque Station and marched into camp at Morbecque.
Here they trained until the 8th of July when they marched to Estaires and then onto Erquinghem and Rue Delettree where they supplied fatigue parties to the engineers who were repairing the trenches.

Their next move was to Fleurbaix on the 15th of July and then they were committed to the front for the first time the following day.
Three days after taking up position in the trenches they took part in the fighting around Fromelles, being committed as part of the 8th Brigade's initial assault on the extreme left of the Australian front that was focused around a position known as the "Sugarloaf".
During this fighting the 32nd Battalion suffered 718 casualties — a third of the Battalion's total casualties for the entire war, which equalled roughly 90 percent of its effective strength.

As a result of these losses, the 32nd Battalion was used mainly in a support role throughout the remainder of 1916, during which time, while they were not committed to any attacks in an assault role, they continued to suffer further casualties through the attrition of trench warfare.

Harold was then promoted to Temporary Corporal and then he later reverted back to Lance corporal.
By the 17th of October they had moved to Baillieul and then entrained to Longpre and marched 8 miles to Gorenflos.

Three days later they were busses to Buire and marched to Mametz Wood and then onto Montauban for further training.
On the 18th of November they were bussed from Vignacourt to Ribemont and by the 21st they had moved to Trones Wood, where they relieved to 2nd Battalion Irish Guards in the front line trenches.

They were relieved by the 29th Battalion on the 1st of December and the following day they moved to Montauban Camp, where Harold was promoted to Sergeant Vice, 3 days later.
Then on the 5th they moved to Trones Wood Camp and relieved the 30th Battalion in the trenches at Le Transloy.
After they were relieved on the 11th they moved back to Trones Wood Camp for the night and then marched to Melbourne Camp at Mametz the following day, for railway fatigue.

On the 20th they entrained to Meaulte and marched to Dernancourt, where they spent Christmas 1916.
Then after spending a bitter winter undertaking defensive duties on the Somme, during early 1917 they took part in the operations in pursuit of the German forces as they withdrew towards the Hindenburg Line, but then found themselves in a flank protection role during the Second Battle of Bullecourt in May.

By the 1st of June they had moved to Bapaume for further training and then on the 16th they moved camp to near Martinsart until the 30th of July when they entrained from Aveluy to St Omer and marched to Racquinghem.
All of August was spent here in drill and training until they moved to the Wippenhoek area on the 18th of September and then 8 days later they were heavily committed to the fighting around Polygon Wood near Ypes during the Battle of Passchendaele. Again they were employed in a support role, as the 8th Brigade's assault was led by the 29th and 31st Battalions.
They were relieved on the 2nd of October and moved Dickebush before being bussed to Ypres 6 days later, where they were engaged in carrying duckboards to the forward area for the day.
The following day the moved into the front line trenches opposite Celtic Wood for 5 days before moving to Ottawa Camp, near Ouderdom.

Two days later they moved to Zillebeke Camp, near Ypres, before relieving the 55th Battalion at ANZAC Ridge for 4 days.
Then on the 28th of October Harold marched out of his Battalion and was detached to England where he attended the School of Instruction Musketry Course, on Hayling Island.

After completing his course he rejoined his Battalion on the 12th of December at Wulverghem.
Three days later they entrained near Remmel at 2:30pm for Desvres and arrived at 1:30am on the 16th of December.
Upon their arrival there was a train accident at Desvres Station and 65 men were injured.
A later investigation concluded that the train was under the control of the French and no blame was to be placed on the soldiers.

Christmas 1917 was spent at Desvres and all of January and on the 27th Harold was promoted to Company Sergeant Major (WO Class 2).
Three days later they marched to Samer and entrained to Nueve Eglise.
They then re-entered the trenches in the Messines sector, occupying positions near Warneton until the 22nd of February when they withdrew to the reserve area for a rest at Gable Camp.

On the 15th of March they moved back into the front line at Gapaard and whilst here Harold was recommended for the Distinguished Conduct Medal.
“Harold had displayed great gallantry and devotion to duty during the winter on the Somme. He was always fearless and cool and his thought and attention for his men made him admired by all ranks.
In the most trying circumstances he proved invaluable owing to his courage, initiative and reliability”

It was believed that Harold’s continuous good work deserved special recognition, but instead of the Distinguished Conduct Medal, he was awarded the French Croix de Guerre.

Then in April they were moved to the Somme and took up defensive positions around the canal between Corbie and Vaux.
On the 20th of June Harold proceeded to No.6 Officers Cadet School (Officer Cadet Unit) in England and placed on supernumerary list, on Command.
Whilst he was here the Armistice was signed on the 11th of November and then Harold completed his course on the 17th of December.
The following day he was granted 4 weeks leave and spent Christmas 1918 in England before proceeding back to France on the 20th of January 1919.

He rejoined his Battalion 5 days later at Sars-Poteries and then on the 8th of March the 32nd Battalion amalgamated with the 30th Battalion.
Each Battalion was organised into 2 company’s, with the 30th Battalion being A & B Company and the 32nd Battalion being C & D Company.

So now Harold was now actually attached to the 30th Battalion and two days later they moved to Sivry in Belgium, marched to Solre-st-Gery and then onto Yves-Gomezee.

On the 20th of March the 8th Brigade was reorganised into 1 Battalion and the 31st Battalion joined the 30th Battalion and the entire Battalion was now known as the 8th Brigade Battalion with the following structure;
29th Battalion – now A Company
30th Battalion – now B Company
31st Battalion – now C Company
32nd Battalion – now D Company, in which Harold was allocated.

On the 2nd of April Harold, as part of Quota 26, left by motor lorry for Le Havre.

He then proceeded to England 2 days later and on the 15th of April he was granted paid leave to attend a Course of Designing, Glass Embossing & Leadlight manufacturing at the Edinburgh College of Art, which he completed on the 7th of July.

Harold embarked from England on the 18th of October 1919 on board HT Morea and disembarked in Adelaide on the 26th of November 1919.

Harold was discharged from the AIF on the 26th of January 1920 and awarded the French Croix de Guerre, 1914/15 Star, British War & Victory Medals.

WW2

At the age of 43, Harold enlisted CMF on the 29th of April 1940 in Keswick, SA and was allotted the service number S213289 and posted to the Infantry Training Depot at Cheltenham with the rank of Captain.

He attended the Instructional Course at Victoria Park and was then detached to the Recruit Reception Depot in Wayville.
He was then transferred to the Military Training School Headquarters, in command.

On the 17th of July 1942 he discharged from the CMF and enlisted into the 2nd AIF, the following day and was allotted the service number SX20555.
He was then posted to the MVTTC (Motor Vehicle Trades Training Centre) before being posted to the Recruit Reception Depot & General Details Depot Headquarters.

Harold was discharged from the 2nd AIF on the 1st of November 1945.