BOYS, Harry Arthur
| Service Numbers: | 550, V6646 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 17 August 1914, 6 mth Senior Cadets |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | HQ Base Ordnance Depots |
| Born: | Wellington, New Zealand, 26 January 1890 |
| Home Town: | Preston, Darebin, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Butcher |
| Died: | Illness, Australia, 9 October 1942, aged 52 years |
| Cemetery: |
Springvale War Cemetery, Melbourne, Victoria Grave 1.R.A.16, Springvale War Cemetery, Springvale, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 17 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Driver, 550, 6th Infantry Battalion, 6 mth Senior Cadets | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Oct 1914: | Involvement Driver, 550, 6th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '8' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Hororata embarkation_ship_number: A20 public_note: '' | |
| 19 Oct 1914: | Embarked Driver, 550, 6th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Hororata, Melbourne | |
| 27 Oct 1915: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 6th Infantry Battalion | |
| 14 Feb 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Corporal, 6th Infantry Battalion | |
| 20 Sep 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Corporal, 550, 6th Infantry Battalion, Menin Road, GSW side of head | |
| 10 Oct 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Sergeant, 6th Infantry Battalion | |
| 27 Jun 1918: | Honoured Distinguished Conduct Medal, Broodseinde Ridge, 4-6 October 1917'For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty with the battalion transport. The pack train was heavily shelled every day, and it was entirely due to coolness and prompt action that the pack animals were brought through the hostile barrage. When some of his animals were wounded, he was instrumental in clearing the road and preventing a dangerous congestion of traffic.' Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 95 | |
| 28 Mar 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Sergeant, 550, 6th Infantry Battalion, 3rd MD |
World War 2 Service
| 17 Oct 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Sergeant, V6646 | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Oct 1942: | Involvement Royal Australian Air Force, Sergeant, V6646, HQ Base Ordnance Depots |
World War 1 Service
| Date unknown: | Honoured Distinguished Conduct Medal |
|---|
Help us honour Harry Arthur Boys's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
How We Served
The final resting place for; - 550 & V6646 Sergeant Harry Arthur Boys DCM who had immigrated to Australia from New Zealand prior to the start of World War One, and was residing at Eastern Hill, Victoria, where he was employed as a butcher, when he enlisted for War Service on the 19th of August 1914.
Harry was allocated to the 6th Battalion 1st AIF and was embarked for Egypt and further training with the First Australian Contingent on the 19th of October.
Harry’s Battalion was committed to the Dardanelles Campaign, and he was to be amongst the first Australian troops to land at Gallipoli on the 25th of April 1915.
Coming through the initial landing and later the fighting at Krithia in early May, Harry was returned to Egypt where he would serve with the Unit’s Transport section and re-joined his Battalion when it was evacuated from Gallipoli in December.
By the 29th of August 1916 Harry was disembarked after arriving in France, and his service in the trenches would be continuous until he was seriously wounded in action by shrapnel wounds to his head and side.
Just prior to his being wounded, Harry had been recommended for the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his bravery and coolness in protecting transport horses which had come under heavy artillery fire in the vicinity of Ypres, and in keeping the transport route clear for traffic to and from the frontline.
Following his being evacuated to hospital he was sent to England for further medical care, and convalescence, and would not be returned to France until the 15th of February 1918, and days later he re-joined his Unit in the field on the 19th of February.
In June he was selected to be sent back to England to attend an Officer’s Training Course, and he would remain in England, where on the 9th of October he was attached for duty with AIF Administrative Headquarters in London. Harry was still with this Unit when he was given ‘1914 Leave’ to return to Australia, as a surviving member of the First Australian Contingent, and began his departure for home, embarking from England on the 3rd of December 1918.
With the War now over, following his return to Australia, Harry was granted his official discharge from the 1st AIF for his re-entry into civilian life on the 28th of March 1919.
With the outbreak of a Second World War, Harry again presented himself for enlistment with the Australian Military Forces on the 17th of October 1940 and was accepted for fulltime duty.
Allocated to the Australian Army Ordnance Corps, again Harry’s service would be continuous, until he was evacuated due to sickness, and whilst still under medical care, his premature death occurred on the 9th of October 1942, at the age of 52.
Following his passing, Sergeant Harry Boys DCM, an original ANZAC, who was decorated for his bravery during the ‘Great War’, and who had chosen to serve Australia in a Second World War, was formally laid to rest within Springvale War Cemetery, Victoria.
Click images to start slideshow.