HILLS, Richard Benjamin
| Service Number: | 949 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 2 March 1917 |
| Last Rank: | Sapper |
| Last Unit: | 12th Field Company Engineers |
| Born: | Holmesville, West Wallsend. New South Wales, Australia, 2 July 1900 |
| Home Town: | Woollahra, Woollahra, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Bondi Superior Public School and Sydney Technical High School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Cadet Journalist |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 7 February 1918, aged 17 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" The Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial (Panel 7), Belgium, Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Menin Gate Memorial (Commonwealth Memorial to the Missing of the Ypres Salient), Sydney Technical High School WW1 Roll Of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 2 Mar 1917: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Sapper, 949 | |
|---|---|---|
| 14 Jun 1917: | Involvement Private, 949, 1st ANZAC Cyclist Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '3' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Hororata embarkation_ship_number: A20 public_note: '' | |
| 14 Jun 1917: | Embarked Private, 949, 1st ANZAC Cyclist Battalion, HMAT Hororata, Sydney | |
| 1 Sep 1917: | Transferred AIF WW1, Sapper, 12th Field Company Engineers | |
| 7 Feb 1918: | Involvement Sapper, 949, 12th Field Company Engineers, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 949 awm_unit: 12th Field Company, Australian Engineers awm_rank: Sapper awm_died_date: 1918-02-07 |
Help us honour Richard Benjamin Hills's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
From Gary Mitchell
Memorialised at West Wallsend Cemetery on parents grave.
Sapper Richard (Dick) Benjamin Hills, 12th Australian Field Company Engineers (Reg No-949), cadet journalist (The Farmer and Settler, Sydney, N.S.W.), from 193 Edgecliffe Road, Woollahra, New South Wales, was Killed in action at Zillebeke, near Ypres, Belgium, age 17 years, 7 months.
Born at Holmesville, New South Wales on the 2nd July 1900 to William (died 24.1.1906, age 57 William-Hills of Holmesville, N.S.W.) and Harriett Elizabeth Hills nee Wright (died 29.5.1941, age 86) of 193 Edgecliff Road, Woollahra, New South Wales), Dick enlisted March 1917 with the 1st Anzac Cyclist Battalion, 12th Reinforcements, stated age, 18 years 4 months, actual age, 16 years, 8 months! at Sydney, N.S.W.
KIA (reported wounded by shell fragments and died 2 hours later at an Advanced Dressing Station. Cross placed at gravesite).
Another member of the " F. and S". Staff KIA.
Mr. Hills’s name has been inscribed on The Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial (Panel 7), Belgium.
Also inscribed on the Waverley Soldiers' War Memorial, Sydney Technical High School WW1 Roll of Honour and the Holmesville Community WW1 Honour Roll (inscribed as R. R. HILL, not designated as KIA).
A beautiful Memorial Plaque has been placed at the gravesite of Dick’s parents to honour the supreme sacrifice of their son during The Great War. GENERAL OLD SECTION 1. R. 13.
Contact with descendants would be greatly appreciated.
Lest We Forget.
Click images to start slideshow.