LAWRENCE, Harry Reginald
| Service Number: | 2883 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 27 April 1916, VT Infantry, 4 months |
| Last Rank: | Company Quartermaster Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 1st Pioneer Battalion |
| Born: | Bega, New South Wales, Australia, 19 June 1889 |
| Home Town: | Randwick, Randwick, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Architect |
| Died: | Alderley, Queensland, Australia, 19 July 1962, aged 73 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Lutwyche Cemetery, Brisbane, Qld Anzac Portion 9 |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 27 Apr 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2883, 1st Pioneer Battalion, VT Infantry, 4 months | |
|---|---|---|
| 17 Oct 1916: | Involvement Private, 2883, 1st Pioneer Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '4' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Borda embarkation_ship_number: A30 public_note: '' | |
| 17 Oct 1916: | Embarked Private, 2883, 1st Pioneer Battalion, HMAT Borda, Sydney | |
| 8 May 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Company Quartermaster Sergeant, 2883, Engineers Details |
Help us honour Harry Reginald Lawrence's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
From Australian Remembrance Army
Company Quartermaster Sergeant Harry Reginald Lawrence (Service No. 2883), an Australian World War One veteran, is among almost 800 previously unmarked WWI veterans’ graves in Lutwyche Cemetery we have now marked with a plaque in recognition of their service for Australia.
We unveiled his plaque in Lutwyche Cemetery on 20 September 2025, along with a further 161 plaques on the previously unmarked graves of Australian World War One veterans:
See Australian Remembrance Army Facebook page
Harry Reginald Lawrence was born on 19 June 1889 in Bega, New South Wales, to Solomon Lewis Lawrence and Selina Lawrence (née Marks). He commenced his career as an architect with J. Marks and Sons of Toowoomba in 1906 before moving into government work prior to the First World War.
He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in Sydney on 16 May 1916, stating his occupation as architect and nominating his mother as next of kin. On 17 October 1916, he embarked for overseas service with the 1st Pioneer Battalion aboard HMAT Borda from Sydney. He remained on strength until his return to Australia in March 1919. His service record does not record any wounds or illnesses during his First World War service. He returned to Australia on the troopship Ulysses in March 1919 and was discharged from the AIF in May 1919.
Following his return to Australia, Harry married Janet Hendry in April 1920, and together they had three children. He resumed his architectural career, moving between various practices in New South Wales and Queensland, including a period working for the Commonwealth Government as an architect with the War Service Homes Commission.
He later established an architectural career in Malaya and, by 1940, was professionally established there. Following the Japanese capture of Singapore, he was interned as an Australian civilian prisoner of war at Changi and Sime Road camps for approximately four years. Contemporary accounts record that he endured devastating financial losses and that, despite post-war efforts, he received no meaningful compensation. He survived captivity and returned to Australia.
In 1954 he was recorded as living in the Brisbane suburb of Taringa and continuing to work as an architect. By 1958, he was living in Alderley, Brisbane.
CQMS Harry Reginald Lawrence died on 19 July 1962, aged 73, and was buried in Anzac Portion 9, Lutwyche Cemetery, Brisbane. His wife Janet died in July 1969 and was interred with her late husband.
After decades without recognition at his place of burial, his grave now bears a plaque commemorating his service to Australia — ensuring his name endures among those remembered for their duty and sacrifice. His identity and dignity have now been restored.
We have remembered him.
Lest We Forget.
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