BOOTHMAN, Cecil Frederick
| Service Number: | 413 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 1 September 1914, An original member of C Company |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 1st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Launceston, Tasmania, Australia, 19 December 1871 |
| Home Town: | Sydney, City of Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Axeman |
| Died: | Pneumonia, Egypt, 6 December 1914, aged 42 years |
| Cemetery: |
Alexandria (Chatby) Military and War Memorial Cemetery, Egypt Row G, Grave No. 80. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 1 Sep 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 413, 1st Infantry Battalion, An original member of C Company | |
|---|---|---|
| 18 Oct 1914: | Involvement Private, 413, 1st Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Afric embarkation_ship_number: A19 public_note: '' | |
| 18 Oct 1914: | Embarked Private, 413, 1st Infantry Battalion, HMAT Afric, Sydney |
Help us honour Cecil Frederick Boothman's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Cecil Boothman was born during 1871, the son of Frederick and Louisa Boothman of Launceston, Tasmania. His father Frederick died during 1890, and Cecil, at 19 years of age became the main source of income for his widowed mother and young sister. He worked as an axeman.
Boothman enlisted in early September 1914, only weeks after the outbreak of the Great War. Eligibility rules at the time were much stricter than later in the war and servicemen had to be between 19 and 38 years old. Cecil Boothman, who was 42 years old, reduced his age to 36 so as to join up.
He was in Sydney at the time and enlisted in the 1st Infantry Battalion. Leaving Australia with the first contingent during October 1914, he arrived at Alexandria, Egypt, where the troops were to disembark and start their training under the Pyramids.
Boothman, however, never disembarked, as on the afternoon of 6 December 1914, he died of influenza and pneumonia contracted only days before during the voyage.
His mother died in 1916, and no next of kin could be found, so his memorial plaque and scroll, and the British War Medal, his only entitlement, were kept by Base Records as ‘untraceable’.
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