HARRY, Samuel William
| Service Number: | Officer |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 28 September 1914, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Last Rank: | Captain |
| Last Unit: | 15th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Pennsylvania, America, 9 February 1882 |
| Home Town: | Red Hill, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Central Boys School, Charters Towers, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation: | Town Clerk |
| Died: | Killed In Action, Gallipoli, 10 May 1915, aged 33 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Charters Towers Boys Central School Great War Honor Board, Charters Towers Queenton State School Roll of Honour, Lone Pine Memorial to the Missing |
World War 1 Service
| 28 Sep 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, Officer, 15th Infantry Battalion, Brisbane, Queensland | |
|---|---|---|
| 16 Dec 1914: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 15th Infantry Battalion | |
| 22 Dec 1914: | Involvement AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 15th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ceramic embarkation_ship_number: A40 public_note: '' | |
| 22 Dec 1914: | Embarked AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 15th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ceramic, Melbourne | |
| 25 Apr 1915: | Promoted AIF WW1, Captain, 15th Infantry Battalion | |
| 10 May 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Captain, 15th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: awm_unit: 15th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Captain awm_died_date: 1915-05-10 |
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"...Lieuentant Samuel William Harry... was born in Brisbane on 9 February 1882 and served for four years in the 2nd Infantry in the Kennedy Regiment. He enlisted in the Australian Navel and Military Expeditionary Force in 1914 and served with the 15th Battalion of the Australian Imperial Force. He was promoted to the rank of Captain on 25 April 1915 and fought at Gallipoli. Captain Harry was reported missing on 17 May 1915 and thought to have been killed in action on 10 May 1915." - SOURCE (www.awm.gov.au)
Biography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Samuel William Harry was born in Pennsylvania, USA, 1882. He moved, with parents, to Charters Towers, at the age of 7. He was educated at the Boys' Central State School and commanded the local Senior Cadets at the outbreak of war. His widowed mum was very elderly and he had four sisters, two brothers; all married.
According to Bean’s history, “Three parties of the 15th Battalion had pushed forward from Quinn's Post (beginning at about 10:45pm, 9th May) and seized disconnected sections of the Turkish trench 30 yards in front. They attempted to reverse the parapet of this trench, but discovered that it was composed mainly of rotting bodies covered with soil. Meanwhile Turks poured into the gaps between each of the parties, and it became difficult for the Commander, Colonel J.H. Cannan, in Quinn's Post, to keep touch with the progress of the attack.
Although gallant men continually risked their lives to ensure that headquarters should be kept fully informed, the intelligence which reached Cannan was disconnected and fragmentary. Eventually Captain Harry, acting adjutant of the 15th, volunteered to bring news of each party. After reporting that all was well with the left and right, he again went forward to find Frank Armstrong of the centre party. He reached the trench, but was never seen again.”
Captain Harry had been the town clerk of Charters Towers, and was a boyhood friend of Major Quinn of the same battalion (of Quinn’s post fame), and of Captain Walsh also killed at Gallipoli. Charters Towers eulogised the bravery of its three best known soldiers who died at Gallipoli.
The local paper reported that the “late Captain Harry, as a citizen, sportsman, and in his public duties, was regarded as one of the finest and most promising of our young men, and held in high esteem for his manliness, high character, and efficiency.”
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