BERRY, Harold Leonard James
| Service Number: | 41 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 21 July 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 32nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Norwood, SA, 23 December 1896 |
| Home Town: | Norwood (SA), South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Lead Light Worker |
| Died: | Old age - body began to fail, England, 11 December 1980, aged 83 years |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Payneham District Council Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 21 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 41, 32nd Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 18 Nov 1915: | Involvement Private, 41, 32nd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Geelong embarkation_ship_number: A2 public_note: '' | |
| 18 Nov 1915: | Embarked Private, 41, 32nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Geelong, Adelaide | |
| 27 Jan 1918: | Promoted AIF WW1, Company Sergeant Major | |
| 22 Jan 1919: | Promoted AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant | |
| 2 Apr 1919: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lieutenant |
World War 2 Service
| 18 Jul 1942: | Enlisted Morphettville, SA |
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Harold Leonard James Berry was born on the 23rd December, 1896 in Norwood South Australia. He had a mother, Mary Elizabeth Berry, and a father, Walter James Berry. Harold grew up with a lot of siblings, 6 actually, 4 brothers and 2 sisters. He was the 3rd eldest out of all of them. Although, 2 of his siblings were born from Walter James’s first wife, Clara Graham Allen.
Harold moved to England aged just 5 years old. He was then baptised there, and eventually lived there for the rest of his life. At the age of 19, Harold left his family, to be shipped to Australia for World War 1 preparation. This was because England were allies with Australia, and they both organised that the soldiers should come down to Australia to travel to France in their Infantry Battalions and then to travel to Gallipoli. He travelled on the HMAT Geelong A2 to Australia with his brothers, and was then separated when they were the chosen in certain Infantry Battalions and which made him unable see his brothers until the end of the war. Harold’s service number was 41, he was ranked as a sergeant, and was with the 32nd Infantry Battalion. For his gallantry and devotion to duty Harold was recommended for the Distinguished conduct medal. The DCM was not awarded however he was later awarded the French Criox de Guerre.
Obviously from researching Harold’s honours and medals throughout the war, it shows how much ANZAC spirit he showed whilst fighting for his country. He was a courageous man who fought for his country and allied teammates and never gave into challenges that many people would normally be terrified about where he didn’t think twice.
Returning from the war safely, Harold was then to hear the terrible news about one of his brothers being killed in battle, his name was Walter Henry Berry. This shook him and his family, and he then started to recognise more about how lucky he was to survive World War 1, especially with achieving what he accomplished in the war. Harold then continued on his life with his family, until dying in his English home on the 11th December 1980, at the age of 84. Considering living in the world when it was very unhygienic which caused majority of people to die of diseases at a young age, Harold was a lucky man and resulted in having a very good and successful life.
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