HUMMERSTON, Richard Goldsmith
| Service Numbers: | 1328, W20604 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 12 July 1915, 2 years 18th Aust Light Horse |
| Last Rank: | Warrant Officer Class 2 |
| Last Unit: | 1st (NSW) Battalion Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC) |
| Born: | Perth, Western Australia, 3 September 1895 |
| Home Town: | Fremantle, Fremantle, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Stockman |
| Died: | Tuart Hill Western Australia, 3 November 1976, aged 81 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 12 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1328, 10th Light Horse Regiment, 2 years 18th Aust Light Horse | |
|---|---|---|
| 13 Oct 1915: | Embarked Private, 1328, 10th Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Themistocles, Fremantle | |
| 13 Oct 1915: | Involvement Private, 1328, 10th Light Horse Regiment, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '3' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Themistocles embarkation_ship_number: A32 public_note: '' | |
| 30 Sep 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Driver, 3rd Light Horse Brigade Machine Gun Squadron | |
| 19 Apr 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Driver, 1328, 3rd Light Horse Brigade Machine Gun Squadron , SW to right knee | |
| 6 Jun 1918: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 1328, 3rd Light Horse Brigade Machine Gun Squadron , 5th MD due to wounding. |
World War 2 Service
| 14 Dec 1943: | Involvement Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Warrant Officer Class 2, W20604, 1st (NSW) Battalion Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC) | |
|---|---|---|
| 14 Dec 1943: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Warrant Officer Class 2, W20604, 1st (NSW) Battalion Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC) | |
| 5 Nov 1945: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Warrant Officer Class 2, W20604, 1st (NSW) Battalion Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC) |
Help us honour Richard Goldsmith Hummerston's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
From AWM
Pte 1328 Richard Goldsmith Hummerston, 10th Light Horse Regiment from Fremantle, Western Australia. A 22 year old Kimberley rouseabout prior to enlisting on 12 July 1915, he embarked for overseas with the 10th Reinforcements from Fremantle on 13 October 1915 aboard HMAT Themistocles (A32). After arriving in Egypt, he transferred to the 3rd Light Horse Brigade Machine Gun Section on 23 July 1916 and served in the Middle East until wounded in action on 19 April 1917. Following medical treatment in Cairo, he was returned to Australia arriving on 17 December 1917. Trooper Hummerston was discharged on 6 June 1918 medically unfit for further service. He later served in the Second World War from 14 December 1943 until 5 November 1945 and was a Warrant Officer Class 2 in the 1st Battalion Volunteer Defence Corps. This image is from the collection of 1328 Private Richard Goldsmith Hummerston, 10th Light Horse Regiment and 3rd Light Horse Brigade Machine Gun Section.
Also served in WWII
Biography contributed by Maree Woods
Richard was born in Perth, Western Australia in 1895. He was the second child of five and the oldest of three sons of Richard Hummerston and Catherine Goldsmith. Richard was also a cousin of Horace Hummerston, 16th Battalion, and a half-brother of Victor, WW2, and George Hummerston, 11th Battalion.
Richard enlisted in the Australian Light Horse on July 7th, 1915, having been a voluntary member for almost two years. At the time of his enlistment, he was working as a stockman on a cattle station in the Kimberley’s.
Richard embarked Australia on October 13th, 1915, on board HMAT A32 Themistocles. By February 1916 he was in the Middle East and was transferred to the 3rd Machine Gun Squadron. Richard had in his possession a camera and his photos are part of the Australian War Memorial’s collection.
Richard joined the 3rd Machine Gun Squadron as a driver in August 1916 in the days after the Battle of Romani. He was involved in the building of the railway and fought in the battles at Magdhaba, Rafa and Gaza. His war service record shows that he requested to be assigned as a trooper on April 14th, 1917 ahead of the second Gaza battle.
In April 1917, the regiment was located at Dier el Belah, the site of a British training camp and a location in easy reach of Gaza and Beersheba. On April 15th they received orders to move to Tel el Jemmi, the Desert Column headquarters and also a river crossing point. On April 16th they immediately commenced outpost duty along the Wadi el Ghuzze and the following day they moved to Mendur, closer to the Anzac Mounted Division Headquarters, eventually marching to Atawineh. In the early morning of April 19th, they commenced a mounted attack. They remained in either a front line or reserve position for two days before being relieved and moving away from the battlefield.
On April 20th, the second day of the Gaza Battle, Richard Hummerston suffered a gunshot wound to his right knee. He was transferred to the 24th Stat Hospital at Kantara and was then transferred to the 14th Australian Hospital in Cairo. The photo on the left show’s patients from the Cairo hospital and Sister Eugenie Crohan, with Richard Hummerston on the right.
On November 11th, 1917, he boarded the HMAT Wiltshire for Australia. Richard’s war service was complete.
In 1920 Richard married Myra Thackrah and they had at least two sons, Edwin and Peter, who both served in the Air Force in World War 2. Richard also enlisted in the Citizen Military Force in World War 2, despite having lost his left hand in an accident cutting wood with a circular saw in his box factory.
Richard died on November 3rd 1976 at Tuart Hill in Western Australia. He was eighty-one years old.
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