ANTROBUS, Harold
| Service Number: | 1969 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 29th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Milton, Queensland, Australia, 10 September 1894 |
| Home Town: | Hawthorn, Boroondara, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Tinsmith |
| Died: | 1979, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, Kew War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 18 Feb 1916: | Involvement Private, 1969, 29th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '16' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ballarat embarkation_ship_number: A70 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 18 Feb 1916: | Embarked Private, 1969, 29th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ballarat, Melbourne | |
| 19 Jul 1916: | Imprisoned Fromelles (Fleurbaix) |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Harold was captured by the Germans at Fromelles, as was his brother Aubrey Antrobus who was in the same platoon as his brother. Harold stated in his file that they were in the enemy front line at about 6am on the 20 July 1916, when the enemy surrounded them. Captain Mills was in the trench with him. He tried to get back and got into a trench with about four others when the Germans rushed them and they were taken. He was also taken to Lille where the captured Australians were marched through the streets.
He had enlisted the same day as his brother, and they had embarked together, being taken on strength of the 29th Battalion in Egypt during April 1916. Harold, a tinsmith by trade, was also only 19 years old when he enlisted. He was repatriated to England with his brother Aubrey, and they both returned to Australia on the same ship, 5 March 1919.
They were lucky to survive Fromelles, and both lived long lives, Harold passing away in 1979 at the age of 85.