BENNETS, Richard
| Service Number: | 4438 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 21 September 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 50th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Magill, South Australia, 4 February 1889 |
| Home Town: | Adelaide, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer, later a Woolpresser |
| Died: | Natural Causes, Pinkilla Station, Quilpie, Queensland, Australia, 17 May 1948, aged 59 years |
| Cemetery: |
Quilpie Cemetery, Queensland, Australia |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 21 Sep 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1 | |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Feb 1916: | Involvement Private, 4438, 10th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Miltiades embarkation_ship_number: A28 public_note: '' | |
| 7 Feb 1916: | Embarked Private, 4438, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Miltiades, Adelaide | |
| 2 Apr 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 4438, 50th Infantry Battalion, gunshot wound, left calf. | |
| Date unknown: | Wounded 4438, 50th Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Heathfield High School
Richard Bennets was born on the 4th of February 1889. It is not clear where he was educated but he went into the trade of woolpressing and later he worked as a labourer.
He enlisted on the 21st September 1915. He was given the service number 4438 and transferred to the 10th Battalion, It is unclear precisely when as the documents provided give various different dates, however, sometime between 20/5/1916 and 30/7/1916. Richard was part of the ‘doubling’ of the AIF. This split the 10th Battalion in half, forming the 50th Battalion. Half of the soldiers were veterans from the 10th Battalion and the others were fresh new recruits from primarily South Australia.
Richard was transferred into the 50th Battalion on the 20/5/1916 ‘raised’ along with the newcomers in Egypt. This would be until 11/6/1916, then the Battalion was be transferred to France. The Battalion arrived in France and trained behind the line until 13/8/1916. The Battalion fought in battle at Mouquet Farm. They fought from the 13th of August until the 16th of August.
They waited until the 3rd of September to attack, again at Mouquet Farm.
The Battalion alternated between front-line duty and training between the time of September 1916 to February 1917. However, in this time, Richard was hospitalised between the 30th of September to the 8th of October 1916. It is not clear why he was hospitalised.
After his Battalion had alternated between front-line duty and training, Richard and his battalion were part of the advance of the ANZAC forces to push the German defensive line back towards what would eventually be the Hindenburg line. However, on the 17th of April 1917, Richard suffered a gunshot wound to his left calf.
Richard had to spend until 26/11/17 recovering in the hospital. He rejoined the unit on this date.
He was convicted and sentenced to 2 years in prison for being absent without leave on four different occasions.
He was discharged from the AIF on 10/10/19. He passed away of natural causes on the 17th May 1948. He was 57 years old.
References
Terrace, V. (2023). View digital copy. [online] Naa.gov.au. Available at: https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3072069&S=1 [Accessed 25 May 2023].
Vwma.org.au. (2023). Richard BENNETS. [online] Available at: https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/107809 [Accessed 20 May. 2023].