ASHTON, Benjamin Victor
| Service Number: | 5647 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 5 January 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Deniliquin, New South Wales, Australia, 1890 |
| Home Town: | Hay, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Drover |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 24 December 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 5 Jan 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 5647, 2nd Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Jun 1916: | Involvement Private, 5647, 2nd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Kyarra embarkation_ship_number: A55 public_note: '' | |
| 3 Jun 1916: | Embarked Private, 5647, 2nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Kyarra, Sydney |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Killed in action on Christmas eve 1916.
Riverine Grazier (Hay, NSW) 16 January 1917.
'Another local boy has laid down his life for the cause of the Allies, his mother being yesterday informed that Private Benjamin Victor Ashton, the youngest son of the late Mr. J. H. and Mrs. Ashton, of Hay, had been killed in action in France on the 24th December. The deceased soldier, who had lived nearly all his life in the Hay district, was about 24 years of age. He volunteered early in the war, but failed to pass the medical test. He waited for a while and made a second effort to get into khaki, being success ful on this occasion. He had been about four months in the trenches at the time of his death. Two other brothers are at the Front.'
His older brother, 2043 Pte. Sydney Ashton 5th Battalion, Australian Machine Gun Corps, died of wounds 4th September 1918. Age 39.
Another brother, 2782 Pte. Arthur William Ashton also of the 5th Battalion, Australian Machine Gun Corps returned to Australia 5 July 1919.
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