PEARCE, Raymond Arthur
| Service Number: | 29768 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 1 April 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Driver |
| Last Unit: | 14th Field Artillery Brigade |
| Born: | Dromana, Victoria, Australia, 19 April 1886 |
| Home Town: | Childers, Baw Baw, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Dromana Primary School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Carrier |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Peronne, France, 2 September 1918, aged 32 years |
| Cemetery: |
Assevillers New British Cemetery |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Dromana War Memorial, Thorpdale War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 1 Apr 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Driver, 29768, Australian Field Artillery - 116th to 120th Howitzer Batteries: AIF | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Oct 1916: | Involvement Driver, 29768, Australian Field Artillery - 116th to 120th Howitzer Batteries: AIF, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '4' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Aeneas embarkation_ship_number: A60 public_note: '' | |
| 3 Oct 1916: | Embarked Driver, 29768, Australian Field Artillery - 116th to 120th Howitzer Batteries: AIF, HMAT Aeneas, Melbourne | |
| 2 Sep 1918: | Involvement Driver, 29768, 14th Field Artillery Brigade , --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 29768 awm_unit: 14 Field Artillery Brigade awm_rank: Driver awm_died_date: 1918-09-02 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Driver Raymond Arthur Pearce (Service No:29768) served with the Militia (10th Light Horse Regiment) from 1907 before enlisting in the AIF on 1 April 1916. Driver Pearce was attached to 119 Howitzer Battery when he embarked with his Unit from Melbourne for Plymouth on 3 October 1916 on board HMAT A60 Aeneas. Driver Pearce - 'a quiet chap, and well liked amongst the boys' (Gunner AE Clarke; Red Cross Files; AWM) served on the Western Front with 14th Field Artillery Brgade and was KiA at Peronne, France on 2 September 1918 when a High Explosive (HE) Shell exploded in the Dug Out. 'He was most severely wounded in the body and was buried where he fell near the Bty' (Red Cross Files AWM: Gunner CG Tonga). Included in the personal effects returned to his family were two damaged watches, a fountain pen, knife, badges and buttons, a Testament, wallet and photos, and letters and postcards (NAA Service File).
Ray was born in Dromana, Victoria in 1886, fourth of seven children of William Henry Pearce (b1858 at Mt Macedon, Victoria) and his first wife Emmeline Ray Ewers (b1859 in Adelaide, South Australia). William (a Farmer and Orchardist) married in 1880 in Melbourne, and lived there and in Dromana, Thorpdale and Childers. William remarried following Emmeline's death in 1900.
Ray worked as a Farmer in Childers and, in 1911 in Thorpdale, married Sarah Jane Rodda (b1893 in Daylesford, Victoria). Ray and Sarah lived in Childers and by 1914 were living in Thorpdale, where Ray worked as a Carrier until he enlisted in the AIF in 1916. Following Ray's death, Sarah Jane (left with three young children) remarried in 1920.
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