BARLEY, Ronald Ernest
| Service Number: | 1787 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 27 March 1916, Charters Towers, Queenland |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 41st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Southampton, England, 15 October 1896 |
| Home Town: | Hughenden, Flinders, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Stockman |
| Died: | 3 January 1918, aged 21 years, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 27 Mar 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Charters Towers, Queenland | |
|---|---|---|
| 16 Aug 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 1787, 41st Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Boorara embarkation_ship_number: A42 public_note: '' | |
| 16 Aug 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 1787, 41st Infantry Battalion, HMAT Boorara, Brisbane |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
On the 4 June 1917 Ronald Ernest Barley was with his twin brother on a raid when his brother was mortally wounded and sheltering in a shell hole in “No Mans Land” near the Catacombs, Plugsteert, Belgium. Ronald stayed with him until he died and was found nearly demented with grief upon his return to Australian lines, wounded and near naked after using his tunic for bandages and his coat to keep his brother warm during his vigil. Ronald was badly enough wounded himself to be evacuated to England with a severe GSW to the face and thigh. He never recovered to be fit enough for soldiering and was returned to Australia 25 August 1917, and discharged from the AIF in early 1918. Anecdotal evidence suggest he remained out of contact with his English family until 1950.
Biography
44 Battalion
Rank - Private
20 June 1917 - to hospital gunshot wounds to face and both thighs
Returned to Australia 25 August 1917
Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal
Son of Ronald and Annie Barley 67 The Portway, West Ham, London, England. Brother of Archie Reginald Barley killed in action 4 June 1917
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