BRUCE, Henry
| Service Numbers: | 2560, 2660 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 29 May 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 15th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Watten, Caithness, Scotland , 1892 |
| Home Town: | Townsville, Townsville, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Watten State School, Caithness, Scotland |
| Occupation: | Farm labourer |
| Died: | Killed in action, France, 1 February 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
Guards Cemetery, Lesboeufs, Picardie Plot III, Row B, Grave No. 3. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ayr War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 29 May 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2560, 15th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 16 Aug 1915: | Involvement Private, 2660, 15th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Kyarra embarkation_ship_number: A55 public_note: '' | |
| 16 Aug 1915: | Embarked Private, 2660, 15th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Kyarra, Brisbane | |
| 1 Feb 1917: | Involvement Private, 2560, 15th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 2560 awm_unit: 15th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1917-02-01 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Henry Bruce was born in Watness, Caithness, Scotland in 1892. His parents were Alexander and Charlotte Bruce of that town. He had come to Australia when he was 21 years of age during 1913.
His older brother Peter had also come to Australia earlier and they were both connected to Townsville, Queensland. 2344 Private Peter Bruce 13th Light Trench Mortar Battery, was killed in action on 25 September 1917, age 32.
Henry and Peter Bruce are both remembered on the War Memorial at Watten in Scotland, though Henry is remembered as ‘Harry.’
Henry Bruce joined the 15th Battalion at Lemnos near Gallipoli on 23 October 1915. After the evacuation of Gallipoli he arrived in Alexandria, Egypt on Christmas Day 1915. In France, at Pozieres during August 1916, he was wounded by a chunk of shrapnel in the thigh. Evacuated to England, it was January 1917 before he rejoined the 15th Battalion in the front line.
In terrible winter conditions, on 1 February 1917, near Gueudecourt, the 15th Battalion attacked a section of the German front line known as Stormy Trench. The party consisted of 150 men and six officers, or one and half companies. The attack started at about 7.00 p.m. on a frontage of 500 metres. Although the enemy trenches were only 100 metres from the Australian lines, inadequate artillery support and poor overall planning caused the attack to fail. A German counter attack at 11 p.m. was beaten off. In the face of relentless German shelling of the captured trenches, and a stronger German counter attack at 4.30 a.m. the Battalion was forced to retire. Although 52 German soldiers were captured, the 15th Battalion’s casualties were 38 men killed, over 20 captured by the Germans and over 80 wounded.
Henry Bruce was reported as one the men killed in action, and a note in his file states he was buried in Switch Trench Cemetery about a half mile south of Flers. After the war his remains were found in this cemetery and reinterred in the Guards Cemetery, Lesboeufs, Peronne, Picardie, France.