BRADNEY, Reginald Raymond
| Service Number: | 1888 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 30 December 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 54th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Keira Village, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, 14 April 1896 |
| Home Town: | Coolamon, Coolamon, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farm Hand |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Fromelles, France, 19 July 1916, aged 20 years |
| Cemetery: |
Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery Plot III, Row A, Grave No 4 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 30 Dec 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1888 | |
|---|---|---|
| 10 Apr 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 1888, 2nd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Argyllshire embarkation_ship_number: A8 public_note: '' | |
| 31 May 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 1888, 2nd Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli | |
| 14 Feb 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 54th Infantry Battalion, Embarked with Bn for France | |
| 19 Jul 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 1888, 54th Infantry Battalion, Fromelles (Fleurbaix), KIA - see stories for witness reports |
Red Cross reports - death of Private Wildman aka Bradney
Red Cross File No 2940705 has statements
4226 Pte L. HANNA, B Company, 54th Bn (former prisoner of war), 30 December 1918: 'On morning of 20th July 1916 at Fleurbaix I was alongside him when he was shot dead by sniper. Hit in Head (eye). We were then in Enemy's second line trench. They got in behind us into their 1st line and we were cut off. I was hit through helmet by same man immediately after but not hurt. We were taken Prisoners of War about 1 hour later. His body would be left in trench. I did not know his Christian name.'
3511A W.D. CARR, 54th Bn, 24 December 1918: 'In the morning between 8 and 9 o'clock I saw him assisting [1909 H.W.] Bilbow with a machine gun - when he was shot through the right eye either by sniper or machine gun bullet - not shrapnel, as he was killed instantly. It was in a quickly dug trench. We were captured shortly afterwards, so I know nothing as to his burial.'
1909 Lance Corporal W.H. BILLOW (sic), 13 January 1919: 'He was not killed going over the trenches but after he got over in the Germans' second line on the morning of the 20th. I was standing shoulder to shoulder with him up to the moment he was killed. He was hot by a sniper from behind, the bullet passing through his head. He had been working all night with me, trying to build up the trenches. It happened at Fleurbaix ... I took his paybook and his identification disc and was forced to give them up to the Germans with my own paybook.'
1841 S. TONKINS, 54th Bn, 28 August 1917: 'Pte Wildman was killed by shrapnel, I saw him lying dead on the ground in the German trenches, on July 20th at Armentieres.'
Submitted 9 October 2018 by Steve Larkins
Biography contributed by Geoffrey Gillon
Enlisted under alias Reginald Raymond WILDMAN
True family name being Bradney.
He was 20 and the son of Mrs. Oriel A. Jones, of Polding St., Yass, New South Wales.
INSCRIPTION on his wargrave
BORN 14-4-1896 KIAMA N.S.W. SON OF AURIOL A BRADNEY "WILDIE" LIKED BY ALL WHO KNEW HIM
submitted by Geoffrey Gilon
A letter from his natural mother best describes his circumstances:
Mrs Oriel Jones, mother, Polding Street, Yass, to Base Records, 8 May 1920: ''He had no nearer relatives than myself. He was my son, illegitimate unfortunately, so that his father's name would not be necessary. Wildman was not my son's name, it was Reginald Raymond Bradney, but as he lived with people of that name for a time he was mostly called Reg Wildman, and when he was registered for Cadets some years [ago] was advised to register under the name he was known by. The next nearest relatives would be my borthers, [2376] Private John Bradney, 56th Batt. killed in action, Pte W.E. Bradney, 54th Batt. killed in action, Dvr Donald W. Bradney, 14th Howitzer Battery, returned to Wagga, and Pte D. Bradney of Coolamon and my four sisters.'
Extract from his service record:
Joined 2nd Bn, Gallipoli, 31 May 1915.
- Admitted to hospital, 1 June 1915; transferred to Convalescent Camp, Cairo, 9 June 1916 (influenza); rejoined Bn, Gallipoli, 13 July 1915.
- Admitted to Fleet Sweeper, 19 July 1915 (diarrhoea); transferred to 24th Casualty Clearing Station, Lemnos, 29 July 1915; rejoined Bn, 28 August 1915.
- Admitted to Field Ambulance, 18 October 1915; transferred to No 3 Australian General Hospital, 18 October 1915 (abscess on neck); to Lowlands Division Casualty Clearing Station, 24 November 1915; rejoined Bn, Tel el Kebir, 12 January 1916.
Transferred to 54th Bn, 14 February 1916; Tel el Kebir, 16 February 1916.
Transferred to Brigade Police, 23 February 1916.
- Admitted to 15th Field Ambulance, Ferry Post, 8 April 1916 (pneumonia); rejoined Bn from Police, 15 April 1916; transferred to No 2 Australian Casualty Clearing Station, 17 April 1916 (gastritis); to 15th Field Ambulance, 17 April 1916; discharged to duty, 18 April 1916.
Embarked Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force, 19 June 1916; disembarked Marseilles, France, 29 June 1916.
Reported missing, 19-20 July 1916.
Court of Enquiry, held in the field, 4 August 1917, pronounced fate as 'Killed in action, 19-20 July 1916'.
Compiled by Steve Larkins Oct 2018
Click images to start slideshow.