GAFFNEY, Ritson Miles
| Service Number: | 2822 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 11 October 1916, Perth, WA |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 44th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Clunes, Victoria, Australia, 1884 |
| Home Town: | Ardath, Bruce Rock, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Miner |
| Memorials: | Clunes Soldiers Pictorial Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 11 Oct 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2822, 44th Infantry Battalion, Perth, WA | |
|---|---|---|
| 29 Dec 1916: | Involvement Private, 2822, 44th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Persic embarkation_ship_number: A34 public_note: '' | |
| 29 Dec 1916: | Embarked Private, 2822, 44th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Persic, Fremantle | |
| 12 Oct 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 2822, 44th Infantry Battalion, 1st Passchendaele, GSW to right shoulder. Evacuated to UK. Rejoined unit 4 March 1918. | |
| 29 Mar 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2822, 44th Infantry Battalion, German Spring Offensive 1918, Morlancourt | |
| 4 Jul 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2822, 44th Infantry Battalion, Le Hamel - Blueprint for Victory | |
| 8 Aug 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2822, 44th Infantry Battalion, The Battle of Amiens | |
| 29 Sep 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2822, 44th Infantry Battalion, Breaching the Hindenburg Line - Cambrai / St Quentin Canal | |
| 5 Apr 1919: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, AIF Headquarters, London (records section) | |
| 5 Aug 1919: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 44th Infantry Battalion, UK | |
| 25 Nov 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 2822, 44th Infantry Battalion, RTA 3 September 1919 and discharged (TPE). |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Robert Wight
Ritson Miles Gaffney, aged almost 32, enlisted in the AIF at Perth on 11 October 1916. He embarked overseas on 29 December 1916 and arrived in Devonport, England on 3 March 1917, where he spent the next four months training at Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire.
He left England and arrived in France on 3 July 1917 where he joined his battalion on 18 July 1917. His first major action was at Broodseinde Ridge on 4 October 1917 then, only a week later, he was wounded in the shoulder during the ill-fated assault at Passchendaele on 12 October 1917. He was evacuated to England, where he spent a month in hospital.
He returned to France in early February 1918 and re-joined his battalion on 4 March 1918. Within weeks, he saw further action near Morlancourt on 29 March, during the German Spring Offensive, then again at Hamel on 4 July, and Amiens on 8 August 1918.
After a brief period of leave in England, he returned to the front and was involved in the successful breach of the Hindenburg Line near Bellicourt on 29 September 1918, after which his battalion retired to the rear.
He was transferred to the records section of the AIF Headquarters in London for four months from 5 April 1919, after which he embarked for Australia on 3 September 1919. He arrived in Perth on 17 October, where he was formally discharged from the AIF on 25 November 1919.
Source: Extract from "Clunes Soldiers Memorial Panel" by Robert Wight, June 2022.
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