SIMPSON, David
| Service Numbers: | 4264, 4264A |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 7 October 1915, Served in the Royal Navy for 14 years; time expired. |
| Last Rank: | Sapper |
| Last Unit: | 7th Field Company Engineers |
| Born: | Dundee, Scotland, September 1880 |
| Home Town: | Sydney, City of Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Sailor |
| Died: | Died of wounds, France, 11 January 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
Heilly Station Cemetery Heilly Station Cemetery (Plot V, Row F, Grave No. 40), Mericourt-L'Abbe, France IN THAT DISTANT LAND WOULD SOME KIND HAND LAY A FLOWER ON HIS GRAVE FOR ME, Heilly Station Cemetery, Mericourt-L'Abbe, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 7 Oct 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 4264, 4th Infantry Battalion, Served in the Royal Navy for 14 years; time expired. | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Dec 1915: | Involvement Private, 4264, 4th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '8' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Aeneas embarkation_ship_number: A60 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Dec 1915: | Embarked Private, 4264, 4th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Aeneas, Sydney | |
| 26 Feb 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Sapper, 8th Field Company Engineers | |
| 21 Jul 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Sapper, 4264A, 8th Field Company Engineers, Battle for Pozières , GSW to right Shoulder | |
| 9 Sep 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Sapper, 7th Field Company Engineers | |
| 8 Jan 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Sapper, 4264A, 7th Field Company Engineers, The Outpost Villages - German Withdrawal to Hindenburg Line, SW left arm and leg DoW: 36th Casualty Clearing Station | |
| 11 Jan 1917: | Involvement Sapper, 4264A, 7th Field Company Engineers, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 4264A awm_unit: 7th Field Company, Australian Engineers awm_rank: Sapper awm_died_date: 1917-01-11 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
From Paul Allen, Australia and NZ in WWI
Finding Spr David Simpson
A visit to the battlefields of the Somme often involves some sort of adventure and yesterday was no exception. I started my visit in La Boisselle at the Lochnagar crater. I spent an hour at the crater and saw at least 20 rabbits but no other visitors. The memorial site has been readied for the annual ceremony which will take place by way of a Facebook link this year on 1st of July at 0720 HRS local time. As I walked around the crater rim my eye was drawn to one of the many memorial plaques that are set into the wooden walkway, it read.
Sapper D. Simpson
7 Field Co Australian Engineers
IN THAT DISTANT LAND
WOULD SOME KIND HAND
LAY A FLOWER ON HIS GRAVE FOR ME
I set out for Thiepval where I could establish where Mr Simpson was buried. I stopped off on the way at the Tommy Café in Pozières for a coffee and a chat with the proprietor Dominic Zanardi who has done extensive work to the Café during the 15 months that it was closed.
Then on to Thiepval where Céline kindly looked up Sapper Simpson on her computer for me.
SAPPER DAVID SIMPSON Service Number: 4264A
Australian Engineers 7th Field Coy.
Died of his wounds on 11 January 1917 aged 38 years old
Son of William and Mary Gibb Simpson, of 8725, 5th Avenue, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A. Native of Dundee, Scotland.
Sapper Simpson was buried at Heilly Station Cemetry, Méricourt-L’Abbé.
I then drove to Méricourt-L’Abbé and found the cemetery a couple of miles from the village. I stopped on the way to pick a fabulous bunch of poppies. It was 10 minutes later when I realised that the poppies were covered in insects that were biting my arms and legs, so I abandoned them.
The cemetery has nearly 3000 graves, and I soon located Sapper Simpson who was buried in a double grave with Private J. Jackson.
In the absence of my poppies, I placed a wooden cross on the grave with David Simpson’s name on it.
Click images to start slideshow.