EY, Richard Ernest
| Service Numbers: | 393, R393 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 26 August 1914, at Morphettville |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 3rd Australian Army Service Corps Company |
| Born: | Athlestone, Adelaide, South Australia, January 1894 |
| Home Town: | Mount Gambier, Mount Gambier, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Clerk |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 26 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 393, 10th Infantry Battalion, at Morphettville | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1914: | Involvement Private, 393, 10th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Ascanius embarkation_ship_number: A11 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Oct 1914: | Embarked Private, 393, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ascanius, Adelaide | |
| 27 Jun 1916: | Involvement Private, R393, 10th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Barambah embarkation_ship_number: A37 public_note: '' | |
| 27 Jun 1916: | Embarked Private, R393, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Barambah, Melbourne | |
| 18 Jan 1919: | Promoted AIF WW1, Corporal, 3rd Australian Army Service Corps Company |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Saint Ignatius' College
Richard Ernest, Ey was a young man, born from a suburb called Athelstone in South Australia and lived in a city called Mount Gambier, located in the south-eastern corner of South Australia. He was assigned to the 10th Battalion. His service number was R393 and he was ranked for his nominal role as a driver.
Richard was at an average height but still being one of the short men for the times. The average height was about 5’8” or 172 cm, whereas Richard was just 5’7” or 170 cm. He was one like many of the other soldiers due to his features. He had fair skin, light brown hair, and blue eyes. In civilian life he was a clerk.
Richard first enlisted on 26 August 1914 in the 10th Battalion. He embarked with that unit on the Ascanius on 20 October 1914 for Egypt, where he spent several months training. Richard was one of the first ashore at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915 but was wounded in the right ankle by a bomb two days later and evacuated to Egypt. Here, after several months in hospital, he was invalided home to Australia on 17 September. He arrived at Melbourne on 13 October and a month later was declared fit for duty.
At the age of 21, Richard embarked for the second time on overseas service. He boarded the HMAT A37 Barambah, from Melbourne, Victoria, on the 27th of June 1916. Once settling in around Melbourne, Richard soon begin another embarkment. He had hopped on another ship on the 26th of August 1916 which took him on a journey to England. On 13 October 1916 he joined the 32nd Battalion in France. A week later he was promoted to Lance Corporal.
At the beginning of January 1917 he transferred to the 3rd Company, Army Service Corps as a driver. He remained with this unit for the rest of the war, except for short stints in hospital. Richard then left France and returned home safely alive on the 9th of July 1919. Once arriving back home in Adelaide, South Australia, he returned to his former employer of being a law clerk.