REDPATH, Ernest Roy
| Service Number: | 17876 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Sapper |
| Last Unit: | 3rd Divisional Signal Company |
| Born: | Harrietville, Victoria, Australia, 2 December 1899 |
| Home Town: | Harrietville, Alpine, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Harrietville Primary School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Motor Driver |
| Died: | Concord, New South Wales, Australia, 14 October 1956, aged 56 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Woronora Memorial Park, Sutherland, New South Wales Crem Fam Rose Gdn 57, 0013 |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 21 Jun 1917: | Involvement Sapper, 17876, 3rd Divisional Signal Company, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '6' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Suevic embarkation_ship_number: A29 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Jun 1917: | Embarked Sapper, 17876, 3rd Divisional Signal Company, HMAT Suevic, Melbourne |
Ernest Roy Redpath
Ernest Roy Redpath, always known as Roy, was the youngest child of Jean Gow and Thomas Redpath. Roy was born at Harrietville on the 2nd of December 1899. His father, Thomas, was one of the twelve Harrietville miners recruited in 1903 to work at the English Company mines in the Masvingo region of Rhodesia. Thomas Redpath died during the return voyage in 1907 aboard the sailing ship RMS Ruapehu. The family was living in Wagga Wagga when Roy enlisted on the 6th of June 1917, aged nineteen years. He was a tall and lanky youth, being 6ft tall and weighing only 138lbs. Roy had blue eyes and brown hair; his complexion is described as fresh.
On enlistment, Roy stated that he had four years of experience in the cadets, which was one of several civilian militia organisations established because of the Kitchener Report of 1910. A bill requiring compulsory military training in peacetime, often referred to as universal training, was introduced to Parliament by Prime Minister Alfred Deakin in 1909. It was a measure with broad parliamentary support. After Field Marshal Viscount Kitchener completed his report outlining the size and structure of the civilian militia, the Federal Government mandated in 1911 that all Australian males aged between 18 and 60 were required to perform militia service within Australia and its territories. Conscription for service outside of Australia’s borders was not allowed under the Defence Act 1909.
Roy was a motor driver in civilian life, and when he enlisted, he was assigned to the A.I.F. signal school, obtaining the rank of sapper. After six months of training, Roy embarked for Liverpool aboard HMAT Suevic, arriving on the 26th of August 1917. In March 1918, Roy was assigned to the 3rd Division Signal Company in France and remained with the company until his service was over. Slotted for early repatriation, Roy was aboard the HMAT Themistocles when she sailed on the 12th of June 1919. Roy arrived back in Australia on the 8th of August 1919.
Submitted 18 July 2023 by John Morrissey