AVARD, David Henry
| Service Number: | 3752 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 2 September 1915, Armidale, New South Wales |
| Last Rank: | Second Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 19th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | East Maitland, New South Wales, Australia, 3 September 1893 |
| Home Town: | East Maitland, Maitland Municipality, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Tenambit Public School and Maitland Boys' High School. New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Bank clerk |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 3 May 1917, aged 23 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Armidale Memorial Fountain, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Maitland High School Roll of Honour, Sydney Commonwealth Bank of Australia Great War Honour Roll, Tenambit Public School Roll of Honour, Tenambit Soldiers Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 2 Sep 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3752, Armidale, New South Wales | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Jan 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Corporal, 3752, 20th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '13' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Runic embarkation_ship_number: A54 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Jan 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Corporal, 3752, 20th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Runic, Sydney | |
| 26 Jul 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 20th Infantry Battalion | |
| 25 Jan 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant | |
| 20 Feb 1917: | Transferred AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 19th Infantry Battalion | |
| 26 Apr 1917: | Honoured Military Cross, German Withdrawal to Hindenburg Line and Outpost Villages, For conspicuous good work during and prior to the advance near Bapaume on 17 March 1917. He commanded a patrol that discovered the enemy was vacating the line and although fired on from the rear entered the German line and found it deserted. He again lead his men and established advanced posts under heavy machine gun fire. He also did good work during occupation of the sunken road and Chalk Pit near Pozieres. | |
| 3 May 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 19th Infantry Battalion, Bullecourt (Second), --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 3752 awm_unit: 19 Battalion awm_rank: Second Lieutenant awm_died_date: 1917-05-03 |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
No railway employment record card can be located for Allan Henry AVARD, (Service Number 3752). There is however a record in the 1914 NSW Government Gazette of a man of that name working for the NSW Railways at the Bullock Island Coal Cranes. His military record shows that he had been born near Maitland in June 1892 and also that he described his calling as a ‘Hooker-on’, which he defines for the benefit of those not familiar with the work with the subtended words, in brackets, ‘Crane Work’. Thus, there is no doubt that this is the man listed by the NSW Railways on their Honour Board. Included in his military file is a typed note from the District Superintendent, Newcastle, confirming the employment and giving permission for Avard to join the Expeditionary Forces.
Avard enlisted on 10 January 1916 at Newcastle. While still in training at Rutherford he became an Acting Corporal, and left Australia on 4 September aboard HMAT ‘Port Sydney’, reaching Plymouth late in October, and by the end of 1916 was serving in France in a training battalion. Early in 1917 he was taken on the strength of the 35th Battalion but only a fortnight later became ill and was admitted to No. 1 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station. He quickly succumbed to pneumonia and died on 15 February, probably without ever firing a shot in anger. He was buried in Ballieul Communal Cemetery Extension, Plot 3. Row A. Grave 47.
There was some confusion as to his rank as Private and several documents refer to him as Corporal. The Chief Accountant of the NSWGR&T wrote to the military seeking clarification, as this affected the amount of pay which had to be made up by the railways.
(NAA B2455-3041795)
Submitted 9 May 2023 by John Oakes
Biography contributed by Geoffrey Gillon
He was 23 and the son of David John and Martha Jane Avard, of High St., East Maitland, New South Wales.
Biography
Awarded the Military Cross (www.awm.gov.au);
Second Lieut David Henry Avard was awarded the Military Cross for conspicious gallantry and devotion to duty when in command of a patrol. He carried out a dangerous connaissance under very heavy fire, and obtained most valuable information.
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