ADAMS, Ralph Bailey
| Service Number: | 2207 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 22 April 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 8th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Gladstone, Queensland, Australia, September 1892 |
| Home Town: | Northcote, Darebin, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Nudgee College, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Occupation: | Mechanical Fitter |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium - Broodseinde Ridege, 4 October 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" The Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial (Panel 7), Belgium |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Menin Gate Memorial (Commonwealth Memorial to the Missing of the Ypres Salient), Miles Wall of Remembrance |
World War 1 Service
| 22 Apr 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2207, 8th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 17 Jun 1915: | Involvement Private, 2207, 8th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Wandilla embarkation_ship_number: A62 public_note: '' | |
| 17 Jun 1915: | Embarked Private, 2207, 8th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Wandilla, Melbourne | |
| 30 Jul 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 8th Infantry Battalion | |
| 18 Feb 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Sergeant, 8th Infantry Battalion | |
| 18 Feb 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Corporal, 8th Infantry Battalion | |
| 4 Oct 1917: | Involvement Sergeant, 2207, 8th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 2207 awm_unit: 8 Battalion awm_rank: Sergeant awm_died_date: 1917-10-04 | |
| 7 Mar 1918: | Honoured Military Medal, Menin Road, 'During the attack on POLYGON WOOD east of YPRES on September 20th 1917, this N.C.O.'s work was exceptionally fine. As Battalion Signalling Sergeant, when the lines were borken, he went out under heavy fire and repaired them thus keeping Battalion Headquarters in touch with Brigade almost continuously.' |
Sgt Ralph Harley Adams
From: In Memoriam Part 1- A to J - Darebin Heritage
heritage.darebinlibraries.vic.gov.au/Assets/Files/Part%202%20-%20Print%20A-J.pdf
"During the attack on Polygon Wood east of Ypres on September 20th 1917, this N.C.O.'s work was exceptionally fine. As Battalion Signalling Sergeant, when the lines were broken, he went out under heavy fire and repaired them thus keeping Battalion Headquarters in touch with Brigade almost continuously" (Commonwealth Gazette, 7 March 1918)
Adams was Queensland born and gave his father Mr. R. A. Adams, "The Retreat", Miles, Western Line, Queensland as next of kin. For some strange reason, the residential addresses of all servicemen who embarked on this voyage of HMAT Wandilla show only suburbs for the residential address.
His mother not long after he was killed was briefly at 77 Robert Street,
Northcote, presumably Ralph junior’s address, but the story then takes a
strange turn with a letter from his father in a Brisbane Military Hospital suggesting he had just returned from the front and expected to be "laid up for some time".
Archives reveal his father Ralph senior also enlisted and left Australia in November, 1915 as a Lieutenant with the 2nd Remount Corps and later served with the Provost Corps before being returned with a severe kidney infection. Both were non-combatant units, thus Adams was able to enlist and do his bit for his country even at 48 years of age.
Adams junior had been Mentioned in Despatches before being awarded the Military Medal, ironically the award made the day after he was killed. He was promoted from Private to Sergeant on 41 October, 1917.
The circular returned by his father suggested Adams had two cousins (unnamed) who died during the conflict.
Ralph junior had four surviving siblings - Margaret (1891), Edith (1895), Amy (1897) and Robert (1900), Another son, James was born in 1904, but died in 1910.
Submitted 23 March 2019 by Evan Evans
Click images to start slideshow.