SCOLYER, Richard Ernest
| Service Number: | 960 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 25 January 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 26th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Bishopsbourne, Tasmania, Australia, 14 December 1890 |
| Home Town: | Devonport, Devonport, Tasmania |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in action, Pozieres, France, 5 August 1916, aged 25 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Devonport Baptist Church Honour Roll, Devonport Cenotaph, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 25 Jan 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 960, 26th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 29 Jun 1915: | Involvement Private, 960, 26th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Aeneas embarkation_ship_number: A60 public_note: '' | |
| 29 Jun 1915: | Embarked Private, 960, 26th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Aeneas, Brisbane |
Help us honour Richard Ernest Scolyer's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Richard (Dick) Scolyer was one of three sons of Richard and Elizabeth Scolyer of Devonport, Tasmania who enlisted in the AIF during WW1. Only one returned to Tasmania.
The mother had passed away in 1905 when the boys were quite young and their father died in 1913, just prior to the war. They all gave their next of kin as their eldest sister, Eva Marshall of Wynyard, Tasmania.
Richard enlisted as an original member of the 26th Battalion during early 1915 and his two older brothers, who were twins, Albert and Frank, enlisted on the same day six months in the 15th Battalion.
Richard served at Gallipoli from September 1915 and was officially reported missing at Pozieres on 5 August 1916. He has a fairly extensive Red Cross wounded and missing file in which several men stated he was killed by a shell, the bombardment at Pozieres at the time being extremely heavy.
His death was not confirmed until almost 12 months later, by a court of enquiry, and his remains were never found.
His brother, 4078 Pte. Frank Harold Scolyer 42nd Battalion, later died of wounds in France on 25 September 1918, aged 34.
The surviving brother, 4077 Pte. Albert Victor Scolyer 47th Battalion AIF, was sent home to Tasmania during 1917 with a severe head wound, caused by shrapnel. He eventually was sent all of Richard’s medals.
Click images to start slideshow.