CARDWELL, Rupert Edgar
| Service Number: | 206 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 17 August 1914, An original member of B Company |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 5th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Carlton, Victoria, Australia, 20 December 1892 |
| Home Town: | North Fitzroy, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Alfred Crescent State School, Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Painter |
| Died: | Died of wounds, Gallipoli, Turkey, 8 August 1915, aged 22 years |
| Cemetery: |
Beach Cemetery - ANZAC Cove Plot II, Row G, Grave No. 11. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 17 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 206, 5th Infantry Battalion, An original member of B Company | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Oct 1914: | Involvement Private, 206, 5th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '8' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Orvieto embarkation_ship_number: A3 public_note: '' | |
| 21 Oct 1914: | Embarked Private, 206, 5th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Orvieto, Melbourne |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Rupert Edgar Cardwell was the son of Thomas Andrew (died 1906) and Elizabeth Cargill Cardwell of North Fitzroy, Victoria. Rupert and three brothers enlisted in the AIF and served overseas. Rupert’s younger brother, 2792 Lce. Cpl. Percy Eric Cardwell 6th Battalion AIF was killed in action during the Battle of Broodseinde on 4 October 1917, aged 22.
The Cardwell brothers’ father, Mr. Thomas Andrew Cardwell, who had passed away in Fitzroy during 1906, was a native of Truro, England, and belonged to the 17th Lancers. He had arrived in Sydney during 1887.
Rupert was born in Carlton Victoria, and attended the Alfred Crescent State School, North Fitzroy. Rupert was a painter when he enlisted in 1914, and for three years had belonged to the Scottish Regiment in Melbourne.
He was an original member of the 5th Battalion and landed at Anzac on 25 April 1915. He was wounded during the Battle of Krithia at Gallipoli, shot in the arm, on 8 May 1915. He was evacuated from Gallipoli to Egypt and when recovered he joined his unit during June 1915. He was mortally wounded on 8 August 1915, a period of intense fighting at Gallipoli, and died of his wounds before he could be sent off.
He was buried in the Beach Cemetery, at 23 years of age.
His older brother, 985 Pte. Alaric Arthur Cardwell was also an original member of the 5th Battalion, also enlisting in August 1914. He eventually returned to Australia in 1918.
The youngest brother, Quenton Charles Cardwell, enlisted two days before his 18th birthday in July 1915. He was wounded in the arm at Fromelles with the 60th Battalion, and lucky to have survived the battle. He was evacuated to England to recover. Although Quenton did return to duty in France during late 1916, he was sent home to Australia on the order of the Department of Defence, in April 1918, as at that stage he had lost two brothers in the war. He was discharged for ‘family reasons’.
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