FARMER, Larry
| Service Number: | 621 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 10 March 1915, Bridgetown, Western Australia |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 28th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Katanning, Western Australia, March 1894 |
| Home Town: | Katanning, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 4 August 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" POZIERS FRANCE FIGHTING THE LAST GREAT ATTACK ON THE WINDMILL. DIED BETWEEN 4-6 OF AUGUST 1916. IN THE FIELDS., Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Bridgetown Battle of the Somme Memorial, Bridgetown War Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 10 Mar 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Bridgetown, Western Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 29 Jun 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 621, 28th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '16' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Ascanius embarkation_ship_number: A11 public_note: '' | |
| 29 Jun 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 621, 28th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ascanius, Fremantle |
Children Write to Families
In 2008, a local Bridgetown girl was selected to go to France with the Premier's ANZAC Student Tour. The grade 6 and 7 class of Bridgetown Primary School wrote letters 'to the families' of local men who had been killed in action in France and a select few were chosen to be taken with the tour participant and to be left at Villers Bretonneux. My letter was one selected, I wrote 'To the family of Lawrence Farmer'. I have no family relation, but I have never forgotten his name.
Submitted 12 October 2016 by Sinead Jameson
Biography contributed by Faithe Jones
"...brothers Lawrence 'Larry' and Lewis Farmer, ...were living in Bridgetown when they enlisted. They were among eight boys born to William Farmer and Emily Coyne in Katanning, with their brothers Augustus and Kenneth also serving in WWI. Larry survived Gallipoli but was killed at Pozieres in 1916, while Augustus also died in France. Lewis and Kenneth survived the war..." - SOURCE (au.news.yahoo.com)
Larry Farmer, also known as ‘Pincher’, was born in Katanning in March 1894. He was the third of eight sons born to William Pegg Farmer and Emily Coyne. Larry was raised and educated in Katanning where he gained a reputation as a talented footballer, winning a gold medal in the 1911 footy season.
As a teenager Larry served an apprenticeship of three-and-a-half years with Katanning coach-builders Mouritz Brothers, acquiring a wide range of mechanical, upholstering and painting skills.
When he enlisted in Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on 13 March 1915 in Bridgetown, some 140 kilometres south west of his birthplace, Larry had been working in the timber industry and described himself as a labourer. Proceeding to Perth, Larry obtained a letter signed by his father in Katanning agreeing to let his son ‘go on active service’.
Following a period of training at Blackboy Hill, Larry joined the 28th Battalion on 16 April 1915. Larry embarked from Fremantle on 9 June aboard the HMAT Ascanius, a11 bound for Egypt. His younger brother Lewis, travelled with him.
On 4 September, Larry, with the 28th Battalion, embarked aboard SS Ivernia from Alexandria and arrived at Gallipoli four days later. Following the Allied evacuation of Gallipoli in December 1915, the 28th Battalion proceeded to the Greek island of Lemnos where they remained until 10 January 1916, when they were transported back to Alexandria on the HT Ansonia.
Following two month’s rest, Larry sailed for Marseille in France with the 28th Battalion, arriving on 16 March. While engaged in the Battle of Pozières, Larry Farmer was killed in action.
In September 1916 his parents received the sad intelligence’ that their son had been killed. The following week, a note of thanks from his parents and family was published for the ‘cards, letters and expressions of sympathy received on their sad bereavement at the loss of their son Larry killed in action in France’.
On 23 October 1916, Larry’s mother Emily received a military pension of 40s per fortnight for the loss of her son and a memorial scroll was received in September 1921.
Larry Farmer’s name is on the Villers–Bretonneux Australian National Memorial in France, the National War Memorial, the Western Australian State War Memorial, and the Katanning State School Honour Board alongside his brothers Lewis, Kenneth, and Augustus; who was also killed in action in France.
Private Larry Farmer was awarded the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal 1914-20 and the Victory Medal for his military service.
From Wikimedia
He Fought The Good Fight
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