Richard Watson BICKFORD

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BICKFORD, Richard Watson

Service Numbers:	11909, NX42273/N74699
Enlisted:	13 August 1915
Last Rank:	Private
Last Unit:	9th Field Ambulance
Born:	Perth, Western Australia, Australia, 5 February 1898
Home Town:	Sydney, City of Sydney, New South Wales
Schooling:	Not yet discovered
Occupation:	Clerk
Died:	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 17 September 1969, aged 71 years, cause of death not yet discovered
Cemetery:	Field Of Mars Cemetery, Ryde, NSW
Memorials:

World War 1 Service

13 Aug 1915:	Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 11909, 9th Field Ambulance
11 May 1916:	Involvement Private, 11909, 9th Field Ambulance, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '23' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Argyllshire embarkation_ship_number: A8 public_note: ''
11 May 1916:	Embarked Private, 11909, 9th Field Ambulance, HMAT Argyllshire, Sydney
9 Apr 1918:	Wounded AIF WW1, Driver, 11909, 9th Field Ambulance, Horse Transport GSW to back
1 Jul 1919:	Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 11909, 9th Field Ambulance, per HT Frankfurt
5 Oct 1919:	Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 11909, 9th Field Ambulance

World War 2 Service

8 Aug 1941:	Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , NX42273/N74699, Staff Sergeant: 2/5 Field Coy
4 Sep 1945:	Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , NX42273/N74699, Staff Sergeant: 2/5 Field Coy

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Biography contributed by Chris Buckley

Richard was the second of nine children of Ernest John Bickford (born 1861 in Melbourne, Victoria) and second wife Mary Dixon (born 1869 in Melbourne, Victoria). Ernest - a Botanist, Author and Furniture Manufacturer and Importer - married Mary in Melbourne in 1895. The family lived in Perth, WA until moving to Sydney, NSW in 1906.

Richard was a seventeen year old Clerk in Sydney NSW when he enlisted in the AIF in 1915. He served as a Private and Driver (Service No:1109) with 9th Field Ambulance and was WiA (GSW to the back) in France in April 1918. Richard was Discharged in October 1919. He also served in WWII as a Staff Sergeant (Service Nos:NX42273/N74699) with 2/5 Field Coy from 1941 to 1945). Father Ernest John Bickford (Private; Service No:22229). Brothers Howell Nicholas Bickford (Corporal; Service No:3752), Leslie Wills Bickford (Private; Service No:93746) and Brother-in-Law John Benjamin Oswald Hosking (T/Corporal; Service No:19644) served in WWI. Brothers Percy Dixon Bickford (WOI; Service No:NX19671) and John Frederick Bickford (WO; Service No:23049) served in WWII.

Richard married Annie Merle Wheatley (born 1906 in Goulburn, NSW) in Griffiths, NSW in 1927. Richard and Annie lived in Sydney where Richard was a Storeman before moving to Penrith, NSW for a brief period in the 1930s and working as a Farmer. By 1940 they were back in Sydney and Richard was a Storeman when he enlisted in the Army - serving from August 1941 to September 1945 (on his Attestation Papers for WWII, Richard stated his birthdate was 1903 - five years younger than his actual age). He and Annie continued to live in Sydney, where Richard worked as a Storeman. He died in 1969 and Annie died in 1972.

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