ARNEY, Richard William
| Service Number: | 5817 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 1 November 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 15th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Hughenden, Queensland, Australia, 24 November 1895 |
| Home Town: | Richmond (Q), Richmond, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Richmond State School, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Influenza, severe, 3rd Australian Auxiliary Hospital, Dartford, Kent, England, United Kingdom, 3 March 1919, aged 23 years |
| Cemetery: |
Bournemouth East Cemetery, Hampshire, England Plot U, Row I, Grave No. 150, |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 1 Nov 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 5817, 15th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 May 1916: | Involvement Private, 5817, 15th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Seang Choon embarkation_ship_number: A49 public_note: '' | |
| 4 May 1916: | Embarked Private, 5817, 15th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Seang Choon, Brisbane | |
| 11 Apr 1917: | Imprisoned Bullecourt (First), Capture near Reincourt Sent to Limburg Camp on 29th June, 1917. |
Help us honour Richard William Arney's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
The summary below was completed by Cathy Sedgwick – Facebook “WW1 Australian War Graves in England/UK/Scotland/Ireland
A tragic story today !!
Died on this date – 3rd March…… Private Richard William Arney was born at Hughenden, Queensland on 24th November, 1895.
He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.) on 1st November, 1915 as a 20 year old, single, Labourer from Richmond, North Queensland.
Private Richard William Arney, Service number 5817, embarked from Brisbane, Queensland on HMAT Seang Choon (A49) on 4th May, 1916 with the 4th Infantry Brigade, 15th Infantry Battalion, 18th Reinforcements & disembarked at Suez on 15th June, 1916.
On 6th August, 1916 Private Arney embarked on Megantic from Alexandria for overseas (England).
Reinforcements were only given basic training in Australia. Training was completed in training units in England. Some of these were located in the Salisbury Plain & surrounding areas in the county of Wiltshire.
Private Arney was written up for an Offence – Overstaying leave from Reveille on 29th August, 1916 until reporting at 8 pm on 31st August, 1916. He was confined to camp for 10 days & forfeited 2 days pay.
On 5th September, 1916 he was sent sick to Bulford Hospital from 4th Training Battalion, Codford, Wiltshire. Private Arney was admitted to Military Hospital at Bulford, Wiltshire on 12th September, 1916 with Gonorrhoea (V.D.) & discharged to duty on 5th December, 1916. He was marched in to 4th Training Battalion, No. 1 & 2 Camp, Codford, Wiltshire on 5th December, 1916.
He was written up for an Offence at Codford – Absent without leave from Reveille on 24th December, 1916 until reporting to Police in London at 6 pm on 13th January, 1917. He was awarded 21 days Detention & was in custody awaiting trial for 1 day. He forfeited a total on 43 days’ pay.
On 16th January, 1917 Private Arney proceeded overseas to France via Folkestone on Princess Victoria from 4th Training Battalion. He was marched in to 4 D.B.D. (Divisional Base Depot) on 19th January, 1917. Private Arney was taken on strength of 15th Battalion on 23rd January, 1917.
Private Richard William Arney was reported Missing in Action in France on 11th April, 1917.
He was reported as a Prisoner of War – interred at Cassel as certified by a wire from Copenhagen received 23rd May, 1917.
According to a German form - Private Richard Arney was sent to Limburg Camp on 29th June, 1917. He had been captured at Reincourt.
Private Richard William Arney was repatriated & arrived in England on 31st December, 1918.
On 3rd February, 1919 he was granted Leave & was to report to Administrative Headquarters on expiration of his leave.
Private Arney was written up for an Offence at London – Absent without leave from 10 am on 3rd February, 1919 to 10 pm on 19th February, 1919. He was awarded a total forfeiture of 34 days’ pay.
He was sent to No. 2 Command Depot on 24th February, 1919.
On 24th February, 1919 Private Arney was admitted to 3rd Australian Auxiliary Hospital, Dartford, Kent, England on 24th February, 1919. He was reported as dangerously ill on 27th February, 1919.
Private Richard William Arney died at 9.20 am on 3rd March, 1919 at 3rd Australian Auxiliary Hospital, Dartford, Kent, England from Influenza.
He was buried in Bournemouth East Cemetery, Bournemouth, Dorset, England where 10 other WW1 Australian War Graves are located.
(The above is a summary of my research. The full research can be found by following the link below)
https://ww1austburialsuk.weebly.com/bournemouth-east.html
Click images to start slideshow.