EARP, Reginald William
| Service Number: | 30205 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 5 September 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Gunner |
| Last Unit: | 10th Field Artillery Brigade |
| Born: | Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, 22 July 1898 |
| Home Town: | Newcastle, Hunter Region, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Barker College, Sydney and Armidale School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Student |
| Died: | Died of wounds, Vaulx-Braucourt, France, 20 April 1918, aged 19 years |
| Cemetery: |
Frechencourt Communal Cemetery Row B, Grave 18 |
| Memorials: | Armidale School War Memorial Gates, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Earp Brothers & Co. Ltd. HR, Newcastle Surf Club Life Saving Brigade Honor Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 5 Sep 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Gunner, 30205, 2nd Divisional Ammunition Column | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Nov 1916: | Involvement Gunner, 30205, 2nd Divisional Ammunition Column, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '22' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Benalla embarkation_ship_number: A24 public_note: '' | |
| 9 Nov 1916: | Embarked Gunner, 30205, 2nd Divisional Ammunition Column, HMAT Benalla, Sydney | |
| 2 Feb 1918: | Transferred AIF WW1, Gunner, 10th Field Artillery Brigade | |
| 20 Apr 1918: | Involvement Gunner, 30205, 10th Field Artillery Brigade , --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 30205 awm_unit: 10th Australian Field Artillery Brigade awm_rank: Gunner awm_died_date: 1918-04-20 |
Help us honour Reginald William Earp's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
From Gary Mitchell, Sandgate Cemetery
Awaiting memorialisation at Sandgate Cemetery.
102 years ago today, on the 20th April 1918, Gunner Reginald William Earp, 10th Australian Field Artillery Brigade (Reg No-30205), student from Earp Brothers & Co., Ltd., died of wounds received at the Second Battle of Dernancourt, Northern France, age 19 years 8 months.
Service record states date of death 21st April 1918, GSW right thigh, legs, fractured femur.
Born at Hamilton, New South Wales on the 22nd July 1898 to Charles Anthony (C.B.E., died 1933) of 81 Church Street, Newcastle, N.S.W. and 21 South Street, Double Bay, Sydney, N.S.W. and Elizabeth Frances (died 1947) Earp nee Jachau of Gloucester House, Sydney, N.S.W., Reggie enlisted September 1916 with the 2nd Australian Divisional Ammunition Column at Sydney, N.S.W.
Admitted to hospital 18.6.1918 (tonsillitis), Reggie is resting at Frechencourt Communal Cemetery, France. Row B Grave 18.
Mr Earp’s name has been inscribed on the Newcastle Surf Club & Life-Saving Brigade Honor Roll, Earp Brothers and Company Ltd Roll of Honour (unveiled on the 2nd August 1918, 9 names inscribed, 1 Fallen) and the Book of Gold.
Educated at Tasmania 1913 to 1914.
Footballer and surfer and held the Royal Life Saving
There is no memorial inscription at the gravesite of Reggie’s father Charles, so August 2015 I placed a memorial cross adorned with poppies on the gravesite, taken a photo of the memorialised grave and uploaded the photo onto the Northern Cemetery website as a permanent record of his service. ANGLICAN 1-63. 8.
The remarkable history of Mr Charles Earp’s contribution to society is worthy of a book or two, so it saddens me when I see the deterioration of this great man’s gravesite with no mention of the supreme sacrifice of his son Reggie for God, King and Country.
Lest We Forget.
Biography contributed by Faithe Jones
Son of Charles and Elizabeth EARP, Newcastle, New South Wales
REGINALD WILLIAM EARP (22.7.1898 - 21.4.1918)
From Newcastle. His father was Charles A. Earp.
At TAS 2 years from Feb. 1913 to Dec. 1914. In 3rd Football XV and the choir. After leaving school he returned to Newcastle and was an enthusiastic footballer and surfer and held the Royal Life Saving Society's Certificate of Competence. He left school to go into his father's office. Before he enlisted he was preparing for the entrance examination to-Royal Military College, Duntroon.
Enlisted at Newcastle and sailed for England in November, 1016. After 6 months training in the Larkhill Camp on Salisbury Plain, he was passed as a competent gunner and went to France where he was attached to the 2nd Divisional Ammunition Column. In February 1910 he was transferred to the 37th Battery Australian Field Artillery and while serving in this Battery he was wounded. Killed aged 19. He was shot in the right thigh and both legs and died from those wounds. A letter from Chaplain G.E. Shaw In the Armidalian tells how he died: "He was wounded very badly by shell fire in the evening of 20th April, and taken to the casualty clearing station where I saw him. There was no hope of saving him from the first but he received most prompt medical aid, including sufficient anaesthetic to deaden all pain. He lay in my arms for the last 2 hours before he died. And what shall I say? – he died as he lived fearlessly doing his duty. I arranged for his body to be buried with religious burial at a dear little cemetery in the village called Frenchencourt, not far from Albert". Chaplain McVittie wrote "I was called up to officiate at his funeral. A good number of boys came along to pay their last respects to your brave son. He was very popular, with officers and men, and always did his, duty faithfully and well".
Buried France. 885 Frenchencourt Communal Cemetery.
Obituary "Of a retiring quiet manner, but brim full of determination and spirit, with more
than average ability, he was a boy who could have made his mark in the School had he
stayed on".
"DEARLY LOVED SON OF CHARLES AND FRANCES EARP OF NEWCASTLE, N.S.W."
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