Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Arnold Harvey Lattimore
Enlisted 3 June 1915 – 25th Infantry Battalion – No 1952

With his father’s consent, 20 year old Arnold Lattimore from Casino enlisted at the Brisbane suburb of Enoggera in June 1915 and was assigned to the 3rd Reinforcement of the 25th Battalion of the 2nd Division.
He had just finished a five year joinery apprenticeship at Casino. During that time he had joined the military cadets at Lismore and later the local militia. The First World War started a year before his apprenticeship was due to finish and Arnold must have chafed at having to wait to enlist.
But as soon as he finished his apprenticeship, the 6 foot tall and well-built Arnold (who had a fair complexion, light blue eyes and light brown hair) signed up for service to join his friends who had already done so.
His troopship Kyarra left Brisbane on 16 August 1915 and he arrived at Gallipoli on 12 October 1915 to help replace the large number of casualties already suffered since April. He was promoted to Lance Corporal on 18 November 1915. His troop was evacuated from Gallipoli and returned to Egypt on 9 January 1916. From there he was shipped to Marseilles in France and was then sent to the front line. The 25th was the first Australian Battalion to land in France.
Later in that January Arnold was promoted up to Sergeant, a testimony to his leadership qualities. In February 1916 while he was overseas, a Roll of Honour was officially unveiled at Casino at a ceremony of the Grand United Order of Oddfellows showing the first eight names of enlisted members of the order, including Arnold.
The 25th Battalion’s first major battle was at Pozieres during July and August 1916. On 5 August Arnold was shot through his left shoulder, becoming one of the 785 casualties suffered by the Battalion out of about 1,000 men. He was also the third of our family ANZACS to be shot at Pozieres. The heavy calibre bullet shattered his collar bone before travelling downward. The bullet was never removed as it was lodged well into the scapula and removal was considered to be too dangerous. The bullet stayed within Arnold for the rest of his life.
A metal plate and screws were inserted to fix the collar bone and these were later removed. He was evacuated to England where he slowly recovered. On one occasion in October 1916, he was given leave but failed to return until the following day. He was “admonished” by an officer and docked one day’s pay. After he was sufficiently healed he was sent back to Australia, arriving in Brisbane on 12 May 1917. He was formally discharged on medical grounds on 27 June 1917.
Arnold would always have a marked degree of mobility loss in his upper shoulder and had difficulty raising his arm.
He received an Army disability pension of ₤3 per fortnight. Arnold never married but he became a successful businessman at Tweed Heads where he ran a number of cafes and related businesses. He died from a stomach ulcer in 1942 when he was 48.

Glendon O'Connor 2015