HOLLIER, Benjamin Samuel
| Service Number: | 7594 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 August 1915, Warwick Farm |
| Last Rank: | Gunner |
| Last Unit: | Army Pay Corps (AIF) |
| Born: | Penrith, 5 January 1895 |
| Home Town: | Penrith, Penrith Municipality, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Penrith Primary School |
| Occupation: | Clerk, Railways |
| Died: | Sydney, 15 August 1953, aged 58 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Rookwood Cemetery & Crematorium Cremation niche DC 120 |
| Memorials: | Penrith S P School Honor Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, 7594, 5th Field Artillery Brigade , Warwick Farm | |
|---|---|---|
| 18 Nov 1915: | Involvement Gunner, 7594, 5th Field Artillery Brigade , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '4' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Persic embarkation_ship_number: A34 public_note: '' | |
| 18 Nov 1915: | Embarked Gunner, 7594, 5th Field Artillery Brigade , HMAT Persic, Sydney | |
| 19 Mar 1916: | Involvement 5th Field Artillery Brigade , Transferred from Suez to France and joined the 2nd Division. Was in the trenches at Pozieres on the Western Front for 4 months before being admitted to the 5th Field Ambulance on 27 July 1916. | |
| 12 Nov 1916: | Transferred 2nd Divisional Ammunition Column | |
| 12 Dec 1916: | Transferred 2nd Divisional Signal Company | |
| 14 Dec 1918: | Transferred AIF WW1, Army Pay Corps (AIF), Transferred to Number 1 Command Depot on 28 March 1919 | |
| 27 Apr 1919: | Embarked HT Runic bound for Sydney. Disembark Sydney on 11 June 1919. | |
| 4 Aug 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Robert Spark
Benjamin Samuel Hollier was born on 5 January 1895 in Penrith. He had an older brother and a younger sister. His father was a respected railwayman and alderman with Penrith Council. The family moved to Cowra and then back to Penrith when Ben was aged 6.
He attended school in Penrith and then secured a job as clerk in the Chief Mechanical Engineer's Section of the Department of Railways. In March 1914 he attended a party with his good friend and workmate Fred Veness where he met Fred's younger sister, Ethel, who would later become his wife.
Ben Hollier and Fred Veness enlisted in the army together in August 1915. Two months after his discharge from the army Ben married Ethel Veness on 18 October 1919 at the Methodist Church Penrith. He returned to his job with the Department of Railways as a clerk at the Train Centre at Redfern.
Ben and Ethel moved into their first home at Dora Street Hurstville and 2 daughters were born. They then moved to 18 Carrington Street Concord (now North Strathfield) where their 3rd daughter was born. They raised their family here and spent the rest of their lives at this address.
The family were involved with the Concord Wesley Church and Ben, with a good tenor voice, sang in the church choir. Ben and Ethel enjoyed playing tennis and bridge with a small group of friends.
Ben became a Justice of the Peace. He was also a Mason and a keen member of the Concord Bowling Club. He became secretary of the friendly society "Sons of Temperance Lodge" at Burwood until it was amalgamated with the Manchester Unity Group. During World War 2 Ben was a Senior Warden in charge of Concord National Emergency Services (NES).
Ben Hollier died on 15 August 1953. He was cremated at Rookwood Cemetery and Crematorium, niche DC 120. His wife, Ethel, died on 14 December 1988 and has the adjacent niche DC 121.
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