HERD, Rupert Holton
| Service Numbers: | Not yet discovered |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 18 January 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | Australian Flying Corps (AFC) |
| Born: | Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, 28 March 1892 |
| Home Town: | North Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Scotch College, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Accountant |
| Died: | Accident - Aircraft, Eastbourne Aerodrome, Sussex, England, 16 June 1917, aged 25 years |
| Cemetery: |
Eastbourne (Ocklynge) Cemetery, East Sussex, England, United Kingdom |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 18 Jan 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 13th Light Horse Regiment | |
|---|---|---|
| 23 Nov 1915: | Involvement Lieutenant, 13th Light Horse Regiment, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '3' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ceramic embarkation_ship_number: A40 public_note: '' | |
| 23 Nov 1915: | Embarked Lieutenant, 13th Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Ceramic, Melbourne | |
| 12 May 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 1st ANZAC Cyclist Battalion | |
| 5 Dec 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Lieutenant, Australian Flying Corps (AFC) | |
| 16 Jun 1917: | Involvement Lieutenant, Australian Flying Corps (AFC), --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: awm_unit: Australian Flying Corps awm_rank: Lieutenant awm_died_date: 1917-06-16 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
The summary below was completed by Cathy Sedgwick – Facebook “WW1 Australian War Graves in England/UK/Scotland/Ireland
Died on this date – 16th June.... Lt Rupert Holton Herd was born at Ballarat, Victoria in 1892. He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.) on 17th January, 1915 as a 23 year old, single, Accountant from E. S. and A. Bank, North Melbourne, Victoria.
Rupert Holton Herd applied for a Commission in the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.) on 30th June, 1915 & was appointed 2nd Lieutenant on 12th July, 1915. He embarked from Melbourne on HMAT Ceramic (A40) on 23rd November, 1915 & was posted to Details at Tel-el-Kebir, Egypt on 5th February, 1916.
Promoted to Quartermaster while at Staging Camp on 28th February, 1916 the transferred to Cyclist Corp on 14th March, 1916. He was promoted to Lieutenant & proceeded to France from Alexandria on 19th March, 1916.
Lieutenant Herd was absorbed on strength of 13th Light Horse Regiment & seconded for duty with 2nd Australian Division Cycle Corps. He was taken on strength of 1st Anzac Cyclist Battalion on 12th May, 1916.
Lieutenant R. H. Herd proceeded to Australian Flying Corps on 29th November, 1916 & joined the Royal Flying Corps School of Military Aeronautics, Reading on 5th December, 1916. He was later attached to Central Flying School “B” Squadron.
On 16th June, 1917 Lieutenant Henry Irving Newton, R.F.C., was piloting an Avro 504A (serial no. 9774) with Lieutenant Rupert Holton Herd as Observer. The plane was en route from Upavon, Wiltshire & overshot the runway at Eastbourne Aerodrome. Lieutenant Newton restarted the engine intending to make a second attempt to land but the engine did not pick up and the aircraft lost speed and nose-dived into the ground. The plane’s petrol tank burst & the plane went up in flames. Lieutenant Newton was able to scramble free, uninjured from the wreckage but Lieutenant Herd was pinned beneath the wreckage.
Lieutenant Rupert Holton Herd was killed accidentally on 16th June, 1917 as a result of an aeroplane accident at Eastbourne Aerodrome, Sussex, England. He was buried in Ocklynge Cemetery, Eastbourne, East Sussex, England where 6 other WW1 Australian War Graves are located.
(The above is a summary of my research. The full research can be found by following the link below)
https://ww1austburialsuk.weebly.com/eastbourne.html
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