PRESTON, Bernard
| Service Number: | 3063 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 16 December 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 5th Machine Gun Battalion |
| Born: | Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England, 24 April 1891 |
| Home Town: | Sydney, City of Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Barman |
| Died: | Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia, 1967, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 16 Dec 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3063, 20th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 14 Mar 1916: | Involvement Private, 3063, 31st Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '16' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Anchises embarkation_ship_number: A68 public_note: '' | |
| 14 Mar 1916: | Embarked Private, 3063, 31st Infantry Battalion, HMAT Anchises, Melbourne | |
| 15 May 1919: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 3063, 5th Machine Gun Battalion, embarked Devonport for Sydney on board HT Orontes | |
| 15 Aug 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 3063, 5th Machine Gun Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Private Bernard Preston (Service No:3063) enlisted in the AIF at Casula in Sydney, NSW on 16 December 1915 with 20th Infantry Battalion, and was attached to 31st Infantry Battalion on 14 March 1916 when he embarked with his Unit from Melbourne on board HMAT A68 Anchises. Hospitalised in April 1916 in Tel el Kebir with Influenza, Private Preston served in France with 31st Infantry Battalion and 5th Machine Gun Battalion. Private Preston embarked from Devonport for Sydney on board HT Orontes on 15 May 1919 and was attached to 5th Machine Gun Battalion at Discharge on 15 August 1919.
Bernard was born in Staffordshire, England in 1891, fifth of seven children of John Hassall Preston (b1863 in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire) and first wife Jane Wildman (b1866 in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire). John was an Artist in 1884 when he and Jane married in Wolverhampton, where they settled and raised their family and John worked as an Artist.
Bernard worked as a Billiard Marker before enlisting in the Royal Navy as a Boy Servant (Service No:L423) on 3 June 1908, and served on HMS Pembroke, Hawke, Penguin, Encounter and Pioneer until 4 March 1911. By 1913 Bernard was in Sydney, NSW where he worked as a Barman before enlisting in the AIF in 1915. In 1916 Bernard married Muriel Maud Harper (b1891 in Parkes, NSW). Following his Discharge in 1919, Bernard and Maud lived in Sydney where Bernard worked as a Barman. In 1928 a Warrant was issued for his arrest in Sydney for disobeying a magisterial order for the support of his wife. Bernard moved to Melbourne, Victoria where he worked as a Barman and in the early 1930s lived with de facto wife Kathleen (Katie) Floate (b1907 in Eganstown, Victoria) - Katie worked in Melbourne as a Machinist. Bernard and Katie lived in Melbourne, where Bernard worked as a Barman and Salesman. Following Katie's death in 1957, Bernard moved to Warrnambool, where he died in 1967.