Reginald Theodore GRIFFEN

GRIFFEN, Reginald Theodore

Service Number: Officer
Enlisted: 25 July 1915, Keswick, South Australia
Last Rank: Second Lieutenant
Last Unit: 32nd Infantry Battalion
Born: Riverton, South Australia, Australia, 8 April 1892
Home Town: Riverton, Clare and Gilbert Valleys, South Australia
Schooling: Riverton Public School
Occupation: Clerk
Died: Killed In Action, France, 20 July 1916, aged 24 years
Cemetery: Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery
Plot III. Row C. Grave 4. Inscription: EVER REMEMBERED
Memorials: Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Riverton & District War Memorial Pool Memorial and Flagpole, Riverton Methodist Church Honour Roll WW1, Riverton Pictorial Honour Board, Riverton RSL Hall Honour Roll
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World War 1 Service

25 Jul 1915: Enlisted AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, Officer, Depot Battalion , Keswick, South Australia
25 Mar 1916: Embarked AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, Officer, 32nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Shropshire, Adelaide
25 Mar 1916: Involvement AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, Officer, 32nd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Shropshire embarkation_ship_number: A9 public_note: ''
17 Jun 1916: Embarked AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, Officer, 32nd Infantry Battalion, Embarked Alexandria for B.E.F per H.M.T. "Transylvania"
23 Jun 1916: Embarked AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, Officer, 32nd Infantry Battalion, Disembarked Marseilles, France
19 Jul 1916: Involvement AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, Officer, 32nd Infantry Battalion, Fromelles (Fleurbaix)
20 Jul 1916: Involvement AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, Officer, 32nd Infantry Battalion, Fromelles (Fleurbaix), Killed In Action
20 Jul 1916: Involvement AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, Officer, 32nd Infantry Battalion, Fromelles (Fleurbaix), --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: awm_unit: 32nd Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Second Lieutenant awm_died_date: 1916-07-20

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Biography contributed by John Edwards

"... Second Lieutenant Reginald Theodore Griffen, 32nd Battalion. A clerk from Riverton, South Australia, prior to enlistment, he was commissioned prior to embarkation with the 5th Reinforcements from Adelaide aboard HMAT Shropshire on 25 March 1916 for Egypt. His battalion relocated to the Western Front, France, in June 1916. 2nd Lt Griffen was reported as missing in action on 20 July 1916 during the Battle of Fromelles and was subsequently confirmed to be killed in action on that date. He was aged 24 years. After the war his grave could not be located and he was commemorated on the VC Corner Australian Cemetery and Memorial, Fromelles, France. In 2008 a burial ground containing the bodies of 250 British and Australian soldiers was located at Pheasant Wood, France. The soldiers died during the Battle of Fromelles on the night of 19-20 July 1916 and were buried by German troops. In 2010 all of the remains were reburied in the newly created Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery. At the time of the official dedication of the cemetery on 19 July 2010, ninety-six Australians had been identified through a combination of anthropological, archaeological, historical and DNA information. Since then other Australians, including 2nd Lt Griffen, have been identified. His brother, Private Oswald Clement Griffen, 50th Battalion, was killed in action at Noreuil on 2 April 1917..." - SOURCE (www.awm.gov.au)

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