PALMER, David John
| Service Number: | 2233 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 17 July 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 21st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Heathcote, Victoria, 1896 |
| Home Town: | Violet Town, Strathbogie, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farm Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 4 August 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Coburg A.O.F. Ct. Tent No. 9123 Honor Roll, Euroa Telegraph Park, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France), Violet Town Honour Roll WW1 |
World War 1 Service
| 17 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2233, 21st Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 27 Sep 1915: | Involvement Private, 2233, 21st Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '13' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Hororata embarkation_ship_number: A20 public_note: '' | |
| 27 Sep 1915: | Embarked Private, 2233, 21st Infantry Battalion, HMAT Hororata, Melbourne |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Elsa Reuter
PALMER David John 2233 PTE
21st Battalion
1896-1916
John David Palmer, our soldier’s father, was born at Kyneton in 1865. In 1895 he married Jane Manson Hamilton in Heathcote. They settled on a farm nearby where eight of their children were born. The next child, a daughter Lola, was born at Holmwood – a farm on the Harry’s Creek Road. The next four children . . . there were 13 altogether . . . were born at farms in Harry’s Creek road, wherever father John was employed. Descendants of one of the younger boys, Norman Robert (Snow) Palmer live in Violet Town. His widow, Lorna, is great grandmother to one of the growing ‘backbone’ families of the old town.
David had to present parental consent to enlist on 19 July 1915 as he was a month short of 19 years when he signed up. After initial training he embarked on HMAT Hororata for Egypt. The 21st Battalion had landed at Anzac Cove on 7 September.
After the evacuation from Gallipoli in December, David joined the 21st Battalion in January 1916 at Tel-el-Kebir in Egypt. The following month he was hospitalised at Ferry Post with mumps. When discharged he joined the BEF and embarked for Marseilles, arriving in late March.
In April, the 21st was the first Australian Battalion to commence active operations on the Western Front. During the Battle of Pozieres it was engaged mainly in carrying duties but suffered its heaviest casualties of the war during the fighting around Mouquet Farm. It was here that David was reported as ‘missing’ but was later changed to ‘died in action’ on 4 August 1916. David is buried at the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial Cemetery.
There followed many letters written by David’s father seeking information about his son’s fate as conflicting reports had been filtering through. The following letters demonstrate the anguish that bereaved parents must have endured trying to find out what happened to their beloved sons. On 16 April 1917, nine months after David’s death his father wrote the following letter to the Officer in Charge of Base Records, Victoria Barracks, Melbourne.
‘Dear Sir,
Some time ago I wrote to Colonel Hawker regarding my son D J Palmer No 2233 21st Battalion first reported missing on 4th August & then as being killed in action on that date if he could give me any account of same he replied he had sent my letter on to the proper office & it would be there dealt with. I have waited hoping something would come to hand but nothing more have I heard. I want to know if the records have anything definite as regards his death. whereabouts in France it was did have they ever find his body for certain & did it receive burial. If he was killed is his kit not going to be sent to me as he told me in his last letter I received he had got some things together to send home . . .’
Three months later written in July 1917, a year after David’s death in France, his father is begging for information from the Officer in Charge of Base Records.
‘Dear Sir,
Re my son No 2233 Pte D J Palmer 21st Batt. Have you never heard more about the lad than has reached me have you ever heard how he died & where, as it will be 12 months since it happened on the 4th next month. I have received his Testament & a handkerchief from your office is that all his kit that could be found if so where were they got on his body or at their base (the AIF as I suppose they had one) I would be glad to know anything regarding him if you have it to send as time is going by & I am afraid it will soon be to late to find things out then as the longer it runs the more like to be forgot.
A reply will greatly oblige
Yours respectfully
John Palmer.’
To make matters worse David’s effects were never found, they were thought to have been lost on the Mongolia when it was torpedoed.
A Memorial Plaque and Scroll were sent to David’s father in 1923.
Service medals: 1914-15 Star
British War Medal Victory Medal
Honour Rolls: Main Honour Board, Memorial Hall, Violet Town
Presbyterian Church, Violet Town
MUIOOF Lodge
Tree no 65 was planted in 1917 by A Shaw
In 2013 a Ceratonia siliqua – Carob tree – was planted by Nick Palmer and family.
© 2016 Sheila Burnell
Click images to start slideshow.