IVORY, Christopher James
| Service Number: | 1610 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 15 December 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1) |
| Born: | Sheffield, Tasmania, Australia, 7 May 1891 |
| Home Town: | West Kentish, Kentish, Tasmania |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Launceston, Tasmania, Australia, 4 August 1962, aged 71 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Carr Villa Memorial Park, Tasmania |
| Memorials: | Kentish Municipality Honour Roll Mural, Municipality of Kentish Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 15 Dec 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1610, 12th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Feb 1915: | Involvement Private, 1610, 12th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Runic embarkation_ship_number: A54 public_note: '' | |
| 19 Feb 1915: | Embarked Private, 1610, 12th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Runic, Melbourne | |
| 12 Aug 1915: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 12th Infantry Battalion | |
| 1 Mar 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 52nd Infantry Battalion | |
| 28 Sep 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Corporal, 52nd Infantry Battalion | |
| 3 Jan 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Sergeant, 52nd Infantry Battalion | |
| 10 Oct 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 52nd Infantry Battalion | |
| 28 Jan 1918: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 52nd Infantry Battalion | |
| 16 May 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1), Disbandment of 52nd Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Christopher James Ivory fought at Gallipoli from May 1915 with the 12th Battalion and survived unscathed until the evacuation. He transferred to the 52nd Battalion during the ‘doubling’ of the AIF in early 1916.
In France, the 52nd Battalion’s first real battle was in the last determined Australian assault on the German fortress like position of Mouquet Farm.
At Mouquet Farm on 3 September 1916, Ivory, with two others, for some hours, held an isolated part of the trench, and checked the enemy from working against the left of the Battalion. Almost the whole time he was under heavy artillery and bomb fire. They were liable at any moment to be cut off from their platoon.
Ivory rose up through the ranks to Sergeant and then Lieutenant. He was recommended for a Military Cross during the heavy fighting at Villiers Bretonneux on Anzac Day 1918. He showed great gallantry and coolness in leading his platoon in an assault over several days. “He inspired all men near him and maintained their morale in a difficult situation.”
Ivory only received two mentions in despatches for his work in 1916 and 1918, and he was badly gassed shortly after the Villers Bretonneux fight. He transferred to the 51st Battalion upon the disbandment of the 52nd Battalion soon after. He returned to Tasmania during August 1919.
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