Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From Australian Remembrance Army

Australian World War One and Gallipoli veteran Trooper Benjamin Henry Eyles Price (Service No. 788), is among almost 800 previously unmarked WWI veterans’ graves in Lutwyche Cemetery we have now marked with plaques in recognition of their service for Australia.

We unveiled his plaque in Lutwyche Cemetery on 16 May 2026, along with a further 185 plaques on the previously unmarked graves of Australian World War One veterans:
See Australian Remembrance Army Facebook page

Benjamin Henry Eyles Price was born on 24 August 1883 in Oxford, England, to Benjamin Horace Price and Emma Margaret Price, née Eyles.

Three of Emma and Benjamin Price’s sons served during the First World War - Trooper Benjamin Henry Eyles Price for the AIF, Wilfred Hugh Price as a Captain in the West Surrey Regiment, and Harold Hughes Price as a Lieutenant in the Worcester Regiment.

Before settling in Queensland, Benjamin had spent time in southern Africa. Both the 1911 census and his later Australian service record indicate that he had served for three years with the British South Africa Police in Rhodesia.

Benjamin enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force at Longreach, Queensland, on 14 December 1914. He was assigned service number 788 and joined the 3rd Reinforcements of the 5th Light Horse Regiment. His occupation was recorded in service-related records as schoolmaster, and also as jackeroo, and he nominated his father, Benjamin Horace Price, as his next of kin.

He embarked from Brisbane in February 1915 aboard HMAT Itria for overseas service, and on 7 July 1915, he was taken on strength at Gallipoli. Later that month, after several weeks in the firing line, he was invalided from Gallipoli. On 25 July 1915, he was transferred from the hospital ship Clacton to Mudros, and then to the base at Alexandria. On 31 July 1915, he was admitted to St George’s Hospital, Malta, before rejoining his unit at Gallipoli on 16 September 1915.
While recovering at St George’s Hospital, Price wrote to friends in Oxford. A letter attributed to him was published in the Oxfordshire Weekly News on 1 September 1915. In it, he described having spent “three or four weeks in the firing line” at Gaba Tepe before being invalided to Malta, “generally run down”. He wrote of the constant rifle and shell fire, the danger from shrapnel, the shortage of water, and the lack of sleep caused by repeated calls to “stand to arms”. His words provide a vivid personal account of the conditions endured by Australian troops at Gallipoli.

His service record shows several later periods of illness and treatment. In July 1917, he was sent to Anzac Rest Camp suffering from septic sores, returning to duty in August. In September 1918, he was admitted to the 2nd Australian Stationary Hospital at Moascar with diarrhoea and was discharged later that month.

In March 1919, he was sent to the 4th Stationary Hospital with an abscess of the elbow, later being transferred to the 14th General Hospital. His record also reflects the toll of prolonged active service, with several disciplinary entries recorded over several years. Together, these details suggest the difficult conditions and pressures endured during his wartime service. In April 1919, Price embarked from Suez aboard H.M.T. Karoa, returning to Australia on 15 May 1919. He was discharged at Brisbane on 14 July 1919.

Price also left behind a remarkable written record of his wartime service. His manuscript, B. H. E. Price narrative history of the 5th Australian Light Horse Regiment, 1918–1919, is held by the Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales. In it, Price recorded events in Egypt and Palestine during the later years of the war, including details about the conditions and health of the troops between October 1916 and October 1918. It is a significant part of his legacy: not only did he serve with the 5th Light Horse Regiment, he also helped preserve its history (see link). 

After returning to Australia, electoral and residence records place Benjamin Henry Eyles Price at Cunnamulla in 1922, where he was working as a station hand, and again in 1928, when his occupation was listed as drover. By 1936, he was living at Longreach and working as a labourer. Between 1939 and 1943, he was a resident of the Dunwich Benevolent Asylum on North Stradbroke Island. The asylum officially closed on 30 September 1946, after 80 years of operation as an institution for the aged, infirm and destitute, with its remaining residents transferred to the newly opened Eventide Home at Sandgate. Price was later recorded at Eventide Nursing Home, Sandgate, where he appears in records from 1949 until his death.

Trooper Benjamin Henry Eyles Price died on 13 July 1960, aged 76, and was buried the following week in Monumental Portion 3, Lutwyche Cemetery, Brisbane. His cause of death was recorded as hypostatic pneumonia, due to a fracture of the neck of the right femur following a fall, with Parkinson’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis also noted as contributing conditions.

After more than six decades without recognition at his place of burial, his grave now bears a plaque commemorating his service to Australia — ensuring his name endures among those remembered for their duty and sacrifice.

His identity and dignity have now been restored.
We have remembered him.

Lest We Forget