WOOD, Richard Henry
| Service Number: | 2472 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 28 July 1915, Enlisted at Bunbury, Western Australia |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1) |
| Born: | Donnybrook, Western Australia, 1899 |
| Home Town: | Donnybrook, Donnybrook-Balingup, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Donnybrook State School, Western Australia |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Monquet Farm, France, 15 August 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" No known grave , Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Donnybrook Preston Road Board, Donnybrook War Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 28 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2472, Enlisted at Bunbury, Western Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 13 Oct 1915: | Involvement Private, 2472, 28th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '16' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Themistocles embarkation_ship_number: A32 public_note: '' | |
| 13 Oct 1915: | Embarked Private, 2472, 28th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Themistocles, Fremantle | |
| 15 Aug 1916: | Involvement Private, 2472, 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1), Battle for Pozières , --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 2472 awm_unit: 51 Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1916-08-15 |
Help us honour Richard Henry Wood's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Carol Foster
Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
Biography contributed by Peter Rankin
Richard was only 17 years 8 months old when he was killed. His family epitaph reads, TO THE MOTHERLAND OF ENGLAND, IN HER HOUR OF GREATEST NEED, WESTERN AUSTRALIA'S SONS TO HELP THE HOMELAND, PATRIOTS TRUE IN WORD AND DEED, SOMEWHERE IN FRANCE NO MATTER WHERE, THEY ARE JUST AS NEAR TO HEAVEN, AS THOUGH THEY HAD LAIN ON THEIR BEDS AT HOME, WHEN THE SIGNAL TO CEASE WAS GIVEN, REST IN PEACE.
Biography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Private Richard Henry Wood (2472, 51st Battalion) was a farmer from Donnybrook, WA. He enlisted in July 1915, joining his battalion in March 1916. Richard was killed in action on 15 August 1916 during the battle for Mouquet Farm and is commemorated on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, France. Richard’s mother wrote that he was 17 years 8 months of age at the time of his death. Only eleven days earlier, Richard’s brother, Private George Preston Wood, was killed in action while serving with the 28th Battalion at Pozieres; he was only 18 years old. Another brother, 376 Private Alfred John Wood, served with the 11th Battalion and was wounded at Gallipoli, before being returned to Australia on account of the death of his two brothers, for ‘family reasons.’