ARCHER, Geoffrey Raymond Downward
| Service Number: | 6472 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 31 August 1916, Claremont, Tasmania |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 12th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Deloraine, Tasmania, Australia, 25 January 1898 |
| Home Town: | Cape Barren Island, Flinders, Tasmania |
| Schooling: | Cape Barren Island State School Tasmania, Australia |
| Occupation: | Mariner |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 6 April 1917, aged 19 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Lady Barron Flinders Municipality War Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 31 Aug 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 6472, 12th Infantry Battalion, Claremont, Tasmania | |
|---|---|---|
| 30 Sep 1916: | Involvement Private, 6472, 12th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Suffolk embarkation_ship_number: A23 public_note: '' | |
| 30 Sep 1916: | Embarked Private, 6472, 12th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Suffolk, Melbourne |
Help us honour Geoffrey Raymond Downward Archer's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Sharyn Roberts
Geoffrey Raymond Downward ARCHER was born in Deloraine, Tasmania on 25th January, 1898
His parents were Francis Hooker ARCHER and May Emma DOWNWARD of Cape Barren Island, Tasmania
Biography contributed by Patricia Kennedy
Private Geoffrey Raymond ARCHER was the only son of Francis ARCHER and May Emma DOWNWARD, Geoffrey had four younger sisters. He was 18 years old when he enlisted on 31 August 1916 into the AIF. Geoffrey stood 5 feet and 9 inches tall, weighed 148 lbs, his complexion was dark with blue eyes and black hair.
Private ARCHER, assigned to the 21st reinforcements of the 12th Battalion embarked on the troopship "Suffolk" at Freemantle on 10 October 1916. After arriving in Plymouth, England on 12 December 1916, Private ARCHER was attached to the 3rd Training Battlion on 18 December 1916 for more instruction on becoming a soldier.
After approximately three months he arrived in Etaples and finally joined his unit on 23 March 1917. The War Diary for the 12th Battalion stated that the 'reinforcements have been of good physique, intelligent and well trained". Private ARCHER'S war had now begun with the battalion relieving the 29th Battalion at Louveral and Chateau Wood.
On 3rd April the 12th Battalion received orders to march to the front line near Bapaume; the others were to advance along the Bapaume-Cambrai Road twoard the small village of Boursies. The village was a double line of poor houses straggling along either side of the Cambrai Road. The 3rd Brigade was ordered to seize a protruding position on the two spurs north of that village; the attack was to take place over the Easter Weekend starting on Friday 6 April 1917.
The War Diary of the 12th Battalion on operations at Boursies from the 7th to the 11th April reveals the intense fighting that confronted the troops; it was during this battle that Private Geoffrey Raymond Downward ARCHER was killed. His Service Records states that he died sometime between 6th and 10th April 1917, his body was never recovered.
A Memorial Cross was erected first in the Hermies Hill British Cometery' however Private ARCHER is now remembered at the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial in France. His father, Francis ARCHER received his son's British War Service Medal and the Victory Medal.
Sources:
National Archives of Australia - Service Records Private Geoffrey Raymond ARCHER 6472
Australian War Memorial - War Diary 12th Battalion
Official History of Australia in the War 1914-1918 Vol. 1V - CEW Bean
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