Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Dick was the fifth child (3rd son) of George Charles Avery & Ann (nee Hiho).

Following his military service he married & divorced Eileen Marie Spillane. He later married Ida May Bolger & together they had three sons.

His occupation when he enlisted was shown as a Sawyer. He later became the licensee of the Pastoral Hotel at Echuca, before becoming a builder in the Melbourne suburbs.   When he married he became a professional fisherman at Port Albert, Victoria.

Neil Richard Duncan (Dick) Avery, at the age of 19 years, enlisted for the AIF on 12th September 1914 at Foster (Sth Gippsland). He agreed to join a non Victorian unit and was assigned to the Thirteenth Infantry Battalion, based in New South Wales, with the service number 233. The Thirteenth became part of the Fourth Brigade, under the command of Colonel John Monash. For this reason he wore the light blue over dark blue colour patch for the remainder of his service life. Initial training with the Thirteenth began at Broadmeadows, Victoria, before embarkation from Esperance W.A. and further training in Egypt. His unit was part of the reserve at the landing at Gallipoli, delaying their landing to 26th April 1915. This proved to be no bonus as they were sent to the vulnerable and disconnected part of the line established after the previous day's fighting, at the head of what became known as Monash Gully. Here, they often faced unscalable cliffs and always the enfilade fire from the Turks on the high ground. At some stage he was attached to a signals unit. He continued to serve in the stalemate that followed without significant personal incident except for receing a minor wound, a gun shot wound in his left arm. In support of the diversionary British landings at Suvla Bay in early August 1915, his battalion was part of Monash's assault on Sari Bare. On or about 21st August, the Thirteenth was involved in a desperate attack on Hill 60. While attempting to cross the approaches in Kaiajik Dere they were subjected to heavy enfilade fire from Hills 80 and 100 and to make matters worse, the scrub caught fire. It was here at Dick Avery took more serious gun shot wounds. As many suffered that day, being unable to escape either the gunshots or the scrub fire, he must have considered himself lucky. He was promptly evacuated, first to Cairo and late on 26th September admitted to the newly opened King George Hospital in London. After convalescence, he was transferred to the Australian base at Australia Road, Chickerell, Dorset, some two miles west of Weymouth. Dick occasional related an incident when he and a group of Australians were drinking in a pub near the base and asked a local what Weymouth was like. When the local answered that he had never been to Weymouth, they promptly lifted him to their shoulders and carried him there. He returned to Australian on 22nd April 1916 and was discharged on 21st October 1916, so ending a two year adventure for a boy from country Victoria. - Courtesy of Lesley Avery