BRIGGS, Henry Francis
| Service Number: | 63 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 17 August 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Second Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 14th Machine Gun Company |
| Born: | Brighton, Sussex, England., 1891 |
| Home Town: | Sydney, City of Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Finsbury Road Board School, Brighton, Sussex, England |
| Occupation: | Salesman |
| Died: | Killed In Action, Fromelles , France, 20 July 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
VC Corner Cemetery and Memorial, Fromelles, France Panel 23. The Official Point of Commemoration has been moved from the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial to V.C. CORNER AUSTRALIAN CEMETERY AND MEMORIAL, FROMELLES- France because he was killed in action [missing] at Fromelles. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, V.C. Corner Australian Cemetery Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Oct 1914: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 63, 3rd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Euripides embarkation_ship_number: A14 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 17 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 63, 3rd Infantry Battalion | |
| 20 Jul 1916: | Involvement Second Lieutenant, 14th Machine Gun Company, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: awm_unit: 14 Machine Gun Company awm_rank: Second Lieutenant awm_died_date: 1916-07-20 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Geoffrey Gillon
Births Mar 1891 BRIGGS Henry Francis Brighton 2b 267
Arrived in Australia at age 21
Enlisted as a Private in the 3rd Battalion, Machine Gun Section on 17 August 1914 at Sydney, New South Wales.
His unit embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A14 Euripides on 20 October 1914
Embarked Alexandria to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, Gallipoli, 5 April 1915.
Promoted Sergeant, 18 May 1916.
Admitted to 3rd Field Ambulance, 14 november 1915 (orchitis), and transferred same day to 1st Casualty Clearing Station; to HS 'Somali', 19 November 1915; disembarked Alexandria, 23 November 1915, and admitted to No 2 General Hospital, Ghezireh; transferred to No 3 Auxiliary Hospital, Heliopolis, 9 December 1915; discharged to Overseas Base, Ghezireh, 11 December 1915; rejoined 3rd Bn, Tel el Kebir, 30 December 1915.
Transferred to 55th Bn, 13 February 1916; to 14th Machine Gun Company, 11 March 1916.
Appointed 2nd Lieutenant, 12 March 1916.
Detached to School of Instruction, 31 March 1916; rejoined unit from School of Instruction, 20 April 1916. Completed course, 31 March-20 April 1916, as 1st Class Instructor, Vickers and Maxim Machine Guns.
Embarked Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force, 19 June 1916; disembarked Marseilles, France, 25 June 1916.
Reported 'missing in action', 20 July 1916.
Court of Enquiry, held in the field, 14 September 1917, determined fate as 'killed in action, 20 July 1916'.
First witness, Lt O.J. ROCKS: 'We were in the 5th Divisional attack at Fromelles on the 19/20th July 1916. We moved from support line to the front line. Lieut. Briggs left the section in which I was a Lance Corporal with instructions to wait his return from reconnaissance. He then went over the parapet, proceeded about 50 yards and lay in a shell hole. He was never seen afterwards by myself or any of the men in the section. We believe that he was killed.'
Second witness, 2922 Pte H. BRADFORD, stated: 'I was in Lieut. Briggs' Section and took part in the 5th Australian Divisional attack on Fromelles with the 14th Aust. Machine Gun Coy. We left the support line and afterwards I left our front line with Lieut. Briggs and one gun team going to the German Trenches. In "no man's land" the team lay down with Lieut. Briggs. I next remember the late Sergeant A. Saunders telling us to advance. I never saw Lieut. Briggs again, and I think from the intense shelling that Lieut. Briggs was killed.'
Statement, Red Cross File No 0530603, 5340 Pte H. BAKER, 14th Machine Gun Company (patient, Southall Hospital, England), 27 April 1917: 'We were in the 5th Division attack at Fromelles on 19th July 16, about midnight. I was carrying ammunition and saw Briggs fall in No Man's Land. I could not stop to see if he was killed, but two men who followed me and whose names I don't remember, told me next day that they carried Lieut Briggs back to our trenches. - they were not sure if he was dead or alive.'
Second statement, 4789 Pte W. DUCKETT (patient, No 9 General Hospital, Rouen),24 May 1917: 'At Fromelles on the 20th July/16 we were in trenches and we went over the top at 5.45 p.m. on that day our objective being the German trenches about 300 yards to our front. Lt. Briggs was leading our Section. We got right on to the German trench and held on there until morning when we were driven back. I saw Lt. Briggs several times during our advance on the German trenches but never after we got there. He seemed to disappear. Some of the other boys said he had been shot through the head and killed. He told me himself that he would never be taken Prisoner so long as he had a revolver.'
He was the son of William James and Florence BRIGGS, 21 Brewer Street, Lewes Road, Brighton, Sussex, England.
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