KING, Archibald Hiram
| Service Number: | 2380 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 24 June 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 27th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Adelaide, South Australia, September 1894 |
| Home Town: | Kensington Park, Burnside, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Pozieres, Departement de la Somme, France, 4 August 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Burnside District Fallen Soldiers' Memorial - Rose Park, Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Burnside & District - Fallen Soldiers Memorial Trees - Rose Park, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 24 Jun 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2380, 27th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 13 Oct 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 2380, 27th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Themistocles embarkation_ship_number: A32 public_note: '' | |
| 30 Jul 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 27th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , Archibald KING was killed in the attack that captured 'The Windmill' at Pozieres, thus culminating the battle of the same name. He has no known grave. |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Adelaide Botanic High School
Archibald Hiram King was born in September 1884 in Port Adelaide, South Australia. His father, William J. King, lived in Shipsters road, Kensington Park, South Australia. King was around 5'6 ft and weighed around 155 lb. He had a fresh complexion with brown hair and brown eyes. He went to the Baptist Church in Unley South Australia. He spent some time in the Cadets, where he learnt how to fire guns.
On 28th of June 1915, when Archibald Hiram King only 20 years old, he decided to go fight in the Great War. He was sent to fight in the 27th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières, and given the service number 2380. The Battalion Embarked on April 7th, 1916 on the HMAT A23. He was taking apart of his first major battle called the Battle of Pozieres on July the 28th 1916
The battle occurred near a French town called Pozieres.
The Australian 2nd Division took over Pozières village by 27 July and was ordered to capture Pozières heights. The attack started at 12:15am on 29 July, a day after the battalion arrived, but the Germans were ready. The attack failed, with 3500 Australian casualties. One of the Australian commanders, Major General James Legge, ordered the men to continue attacking instead of withdrawing which led to them winning and seizing The Pozieres Heights from the Germans on the 4th of August 1916. On the same day Archibald Hiram was declared missing only too be declared dead on the 30th of September 1916. With the the date of his death 4th of August 1916 and was killed in action. His body has not been discovered.
When William J. King (Archibald Hiram King's Father) found out his son died he sent multiple letters to the military for his sons body, as he wanted to bury it, only to be told that his sons body was never found.
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