Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Early Education and Sport

Paul Charles Beaumont was born on 13th July 1896 in Jamestown South Australia, the son of the Reverend Charles Saultmarsh Beaumont and Emily Mary Ekers. Shortly after the family moved to Adelaide and Paul grew up at Cambridge Terrace, Malvern and attended St Peters' College. He completed his Primary, Junior, Senior and Higher Public Examinations between the years of 1908 to 1913. In 1910 he had won a scholarship which paid his school fees for two years.

A keen sportsman he played both football and cricket. St Peter's College had a very strong cricket team, then captained by a young "Nip" Pellew, who would go on to play for Australia, however in the 1912/1913 season Paul was selected once in the 1st XI cricket team.

He also played in the 1st XV111 football team. In his final year at school (1913) he did not make the teams in cricket or football for the intercollegiate matches against their main rival, Prince Alfred College.

In his final year at St Peters' College he was awarded an Education Department Bursary to enroll in the Adelaide University Arts Faculty.

Adelaide University

Cricket

After enrolling in the Arts Faculty at Adelaide University, he played for the AUCC in the second half of the 1913/14 season and the following season until enlisting in February 1915. His final game before the War was in January 1915.

Football

Paul played one season of football and was a member of the 1914 Adelaide University Football Club B Team which was premiers in the Adelaide Students Association.

Studies

In November 1914, Paul was successful in passing three subjects towards an Arts degree; 1st Year Latin, History of the United Kingdom and Pure Mathematics at 2nd Year level. Now however, his study would now have to be put on hold for 5 years.

World War I Service

Paul Beaumont enlisted on the 5th February 1915 and on his Attestation Papers he is listed as 18 years and 7 months, 5' 11¼" and 152lbs. He embarked for overseas duty with the 27th Battalion in May 1915. After arriving in Egypt, in July 1915 a large group of St Peter's College old boys gathered for a "smoke social" at the Heliopolis House Hotel.

Following a period of training in Egypt, by September1915, Paul was with his 27th Battalion which was attached to the Mediterranean Expeditionary Forces at Gallipoli. After the retreat from Gallipoli in January 1916, he underwent a further two months training in Alexandria, Egypt and then was transported to Marseilles, France in April 1916. He was attached to the 7th brigade for trench mortar training at Armentieres and then transferred to the 2nd Division Artillery at the front. Paul saw action in France for the next 12 months.

He was severely wounded in October 1917 with shrapnel wounds to both thighs. After being stabilised by the field ambulance and at a casualty station he received further treatment at the 15th General Hospital in France before being transported back to the Ilford Emergency Hospital, Colchester England for further surgery and recovery. It took 5 months before he was well enough to be transferred to the 3rd Auxiliary Hospital in Dartford for further rehabilitation and periods of furlough.
On the 30th June, almost 9 months after being wounded he was transferred to a Hospital Ship Kanowna" for return to Australia to be discharged as "Medically Unfit for Duty".

Paul arrived back in Australia at the Port of Melbourne in July 1918 and then back to Adelaide in September. He was officially discharged on the 7th February 1919.
Return to Adelaide University

The following year he re-enrolled to complete his Arts Degree at Adelaide University. He completed his Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1921 and was awarded the Roby Fletcher Prize in Psychology and Logic after finishing top in both subjects in his final year.

Despite his War injuries, Paul also attempted to play one further season of cricket for the Blacks in 1920/21. He was named twice in the B Grade team in November against East Torrens and in December against Glenelg.

Unfortunately details of these matches are not available.

Return to Civilian Life and Teaching Career

Motor registration records indicate at the time he was living at Rose Terrace, Wayville and had purchased himself a 1910 model 16.9hp Hupmobile, probably from the benefit of his War Gratuity.

In 1922 he received a teaching appointment at Kings School, Parramatta NSW (the oldest Independent School in Australia) where he remained a Master until 1950. His address on the electoral roll was at the school. It appears he did not marry and devoted his life to teaching and school activities.

In 1931 the Beaumont family was struck by major tragedy. In a period of a few weeks, Paul's older sister Dorothea, younger brother Cyril and uncle Augustus had passed away.

Paul was called to be the Administrator of his older sister's estate, who had passed away at the age of only 36.

Paul's sister Dorothea, had been a highly regarded mother-craft nurse who had a column in an several Adelaide newspaper and was writing it in the weeks up to her death.

Paul had taken up playing golf at some stage and in 1936 scored a hole-in-one.

In 1950/1951, Paul was acting as co-executor for the estate of a spinster, Florence Swayne of Gordon, NSW.

After nearly thirty years teaching at Kings School, Parramatta, Paul made an overseas trip to the United Kingdom.

After returning from a trip to England he moved to 9 Bushland Avenue, Gordon but continued teaching for several years.

On his retirement he was still living at Gordon, a suburb of Sydney where he passed away on 13th December 1962.

Profile added with the permission of the author Rob O'Shannassy.

For the complete profile including photographs, newspaper articles, documents and sources prepared for the AUFC/AUCC WWI Memorial Project please see the document attached.