FARMER, Melville Orchard
| Service Number: | 76 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 September 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 9th Light Horse Regiment |
| Born: | Wallaroo, South Australia, 29 June 1888 |
| Home Town: | Malvern, Unley, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Wallaroo and Clare Public Schools, South Australia |
| Occupation: | Insurance Clerk |
| Died: | Killed In Action, Es-Salt, Palestine, 30 April 1918, aged 29 years |
| Cemetery: |
Jerusalem War Cemetery |
| Memorials: | The South Australian National War Memorial, Victor Harbor Congregational Church Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Sep 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Sergeant | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 Feb 1915: | Involvement 76, 9th Light Horse Regiment, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '2' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Armadale embarkation_ship_number: A26 public_note: '' | |
| 12 Feb 1915: | Embarked 76, 9th Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Armadale, Melbourne | |
| 30 Apr 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Lieutenant |
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Son of Henry FARMER and Louisa Margaret nee ORCHARD
Husband of Ruth Ethel FARMER nee ADAMS
Married Ruth Ethel ADAMS of St. Peters, Sa in Port Said, Egypt 29 July 1916
Biography contributed by St Ignatius' College
Melville Orchard Farmer was born on 19 June 1888 in Wallaroo, South Australia. He was the son of Henry Farmer and Louisa Margaret Orchard Farmer, and the brother of Hilda Farmer (The Australians, 1918, page 5 via Trove). He was educated at Wallaroo and Clare Public Schools and later was employed as an Insurance Clerk with Australian Mutual Provident Society.
At 26 years old in 20 September 1914, he enlisted. His Attestation Papers described him as being six feet tall and weighing 164 pounds, with a fair complexion, fair hair, and blue eyes and he identified with the Congregational faith.
Following his initial training at Morphettville, Farmer embarked for overseas service aboard His Majesty’s Australian Transport Ship Armadale (A26) on 15 January 1915. Upon his arrival in Egypt, Farmer continued his training at the Maadi and Mena camps.
The Gallipoli Campaign was Farmer’s first major campaign in May 1915. Farmer endured several bouts of illness during this time. He was hospitalised for diarrhoea and dysentery and later evacuated to hospitals in Lemnos and Heliopolis, where he was treated for influenza.
Farmer was promoted to Corporal in July 1915, and later that year to Sergeant. By December 1916, he had achieved the rank of 2nd Lieutenant, and in August 1917, a full Lieutenant. He undertook specialist training at the Hotchkiss Gun School and Cavalry School, and he was posted as a Quartermaster Sergeant. He was granted two weeks’ leave in the United Kingdom through September to October in 1917.
Farmer married Ruby Ethel Adams on 29 July 1916, at Port Said, Egypt (National Archives of Australia, Particulars of Marriage, n.d.). Following their marriage, his wife travelled to London and worked for a year in the War Office before returning to Australia in early 1918 (The Australians, 1918, via Trove).
Farmer’s service ended when he was killed in action on 30 April 1918 during the Es-Salt raid in Palestine, a British attempt to capture a key strategic position east of the Jordan River. He was 29 years old, and was buried on the battlefield by Lieutenant R. O. Turner. Farmer’s grave was later lost, and he was commemorated on the Jerusalem Memorial to the Missing (Commonwealth War Graves Commission, n.d.).
Reference List:
Australian War Memorial 1915, HMAT Armadale A26 embarkation docket at Port Melbourne, https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P10730848
Australian War Memorial 1915, 9th Light Horse Regiment in trenches at Gallipoli, https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/U51043
Australian War Memorial 1915c, Portrait of Melville Orchard Farmer before enlistment, https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P10637990
Australian War Memorial n.d., Roll of Honour – Melville Orchard Farmer, https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1723542
Commonwealth War Graves Commission 1918, Casualty details: Melville Orchard Farmer, https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/1645130/melville-orchard-farmer/
National Archives of Australia 1914, Service record of Melville Orchard Farmer, Series B2455, Item 3548146, https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3548146
Trove 1914, First 100 recruits – news article on Melville Farmer, https://trove.nla.gov.au/search/advanced/category/newspapers?l-artType=newspapers&keyword=%22M+O+FARMER%22&l-decade=191&l-category=Family+Notices
Trove 1916, Marriage notice: Farmer & Adams, The Advertiser, 29 July 1916, https://trove.nla.gov.au/search/advanced/category/newspapers?l-artType=newspapers&keyword=%22M+O+FARMER%22&l-decade=191&l-category=Family+Notices
Trove 1918, News of farmers death: Lieutenant Melville Farmer, Victor Harbor Times, 15 May 1918, https://trove.nla.gov.au/search/advanced/category/newspapers?l-artType=newspapers&keyword=%22M+O+FARMER%22&l-decade=191&l-category=Family+Notices
Victor Harbor RSL 2024, Melville Orchard Farmer – Service No. 76, Victor Harbor RSL Sub-branch, https://victorharborrsl.com.au/farmer-melville-orchard-army-76/
Virtual War Memorial Australia 2024, 9th Light Horse Regiment unit details, https://vwma.org.au/explore/units/68
Memories.net 2018, Memorials: Melville Orchard Farmer, https://app.memories.net/memorials/melville-farmer-56426
Great War Forum 2007, 'LEMNOS-A tough choice', The Great War Forum, 15 May, https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/75366-lemnos-a-tough-choice/
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