ANDREWS, Edward John
| Service Number: | 7451 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 27 October 1916, Enlisted at Blackboy Hill, WA |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 44th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Clunes, Victoria, Australia, 1884 |
| Home Town: | Clunes, Hepburn, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Clunes State School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Miner |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 28 March 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Originally buried (in an isolated grave with a cross) on the eastern extremities of the Sailly-le-Sec but grave destroyed by following battles, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Clunes War Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 27 Oct 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 7451, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), Enlisted at Blackboy Hill, WA | |
|---|---|---|
| 29 Jun 1917: | Involvement Private, 7451, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Borda embarkation_ship_number: A30 public_note: '' | |
| 29 Jun 1917: | Embarked Private, 7451, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), HMAT Borda, Fremantle | |
| 10 Dec 1917: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 44th Infantry Battalion, Transferred from the 16th Battalion to the 44th Battalion | |
| 28 Mar 1918: | Involvement Private, 7451, 44th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 7451 awm_unit: 44th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1918-03-28 | |
| 28 Mar 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 7451, 44th Infantry Battalion, German Spring Offensive 1918 |
Help us honour Edward John Andrews's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Carol Foster
Son of William and Ellen Andrews of Templeton Street, Clunes, Victoria; brother of Ernest Andrews of the ANZAC Provost Crops
Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal
Biography contributed by Robert Wight
Edward John Andrews, aged almost 33, enlisted in the AIF at Blackboy Hill on 27 October 1916. He embarked overseas on 29 June 1917 and arrived in Plymouth, England on 25 August 1917, where he joined the 4th (Brigade) Training Battalion at their Codford Camp on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire.
He transferred to the 11th (Brigade) Training Battalion on 3 November 1917 then proceeded overseas to France on 4 December and then to Belgium, where he was taken on strength of the 44th Battalion on 10 December 1917.
In late March 1918, after the initial thrust of the German Spring Offensive on the Somme, Pte Andrews and his battalion were rushed south to the region to assist the allied defence.
It was in the area near Sailly le Sec that Pte Edward John Andrews was killed in action on 28 March 1918.
He was buried on the outer extremities of the village however this grave was subsequently lost, and his remains were never found.
He is remembered on the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux.
Source: Extract from "Clunes War Memorial WW1" by Robert Wight, June 2022.