27102
BARNETT, Elliott Woodman
| Service Number: | 1633 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 March 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 50th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Campbelltown, South Australia, January 1897 |
| Home Town: | Campbelltown, Campbelltown, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Butcher |
| Memorials: | Campbelltown WW1 Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Mar 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1633, 50th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Apr 1916: | Involvement Private, 1633, 50th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '19' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Aeneas embarkation_ship_number: A60 public_note: '' | |
| 11 Apr 1916: | Embarked Private, 1633, 50th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Aeneas, Adelaide | |
| 2 Aug 1918: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 1633, 50th Infantry Battalion, Elliott Woodman Barnett was discharged as he was medically unfit (he did not misbehave). | |
| Date unknown: | Wounded 1633, 50th Infantry Battalion |
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Elliott Woodman Barnett was born in January of 1897. His religious denomination was Church of England. Elliot was also single, whose next of kin was his mother, Mrs. Anna Barnett. However, this changed when his mother died, so his next of kin became his father. At age 19 (just before he was enlisted in the war), Elliott was a butcher, with no previous apprenticeship or apparent conviction (although there was one suspicious situation, where Elliott ‘denied having neglected to have the tail lamp of his motor car alight on the night of February 19’. (http://trove.nla.gov.au). He was eventually charged one pound and fifteen shillings and deemed guilty).
Elliott had brown coloured hair with matching brown eyes, a tone lighter, a height of 5 foot, 5.5 inches –164 centimetres– and a weight of 140 pounds –63.5 kilograms–. He had a medium complextion and chest measurements of 34.5 inches by 6.5 inches. There were no recorded distinctive marks on his left or right arms, however he did have a vaccination scar on his left arm.
Elliott was a soldier, ranked Private, who served in World War I. He had previous military service in the 78th Infantry. On the 20th of March 1916, in Adelaide, South Australia, he enlisted in World War I and embarked on his journey, on ship HMAT Aeneas A60 to his training station location on the 11th of April 1916. HMAT Aeneas A60 was a British liner, with HMAT being an abbreviation for His Majesty’s Australian Transport. His service number was 1633 and his unit was 50th Infantry Battalion, 2nd to 9th Reinforcement. The 50th Infantry Battalion included a number of veterans from the 10th Battalion and new reinforcements from Australia, mainly South Australian men. The 50th Battalion was a part of the 13th Brigade of the 4th Australian Division. ‘The 50th Battalion was raised in Egypt 1916 as part of the process that was known as "doubling the AIF" to create the 4th and 5th Divisions’. (https://rslvirtualwarmemorial.org.au/explore/units/6). The first major battle the 50th Battalion participated in was from the 13th to the 15th of August at Mouquet Farm in France.
Some significant dates whilst Elliott was serving included:
- The 18th of July 1916 when he fell out of line in a march without consent – one days pay was forfeited
- The 24th of August 1916 when he suffered from bronchitis whilst in England
- The 26th of January 1917 when he did not obey an order given to him by his superior – he did not return to camp when asked
- The 28th of August 1917 when he was added to a new unit (T.O.S.)
- The 6th of September 1917 when he was wounded in action in France
- The 8th of April 1918 when he suffered from toxic jaundice and was relieved of his duty and taken back to Australia
Elliott ‘progressed favourably’ and was awarded a number of medals including, a:
- Victory Medal, ‘commemorating the victory of Allied Forces over the Central Powers’ (http://www.defence.gov.au/Medals/Imperial/WWI/Victory-Medal.asp)
- British War Medal, ‘instituted by King George V in 1919 to mark the end of World War I and record the service given’ (http://www.defence.gov.au/Medals/Imperial/WWI/British-War-Medal-1914-20.asp)
- STAR medal, issued to those who previously served between August 5th and November 22nd 1914 in Belgium or France
Elliott Woodman Barnett served for a total of 2 years and 136 days, 2 years and 46 of those days spent abroad, before he was discharged and returned to Australia on the 8th of April 1918 due to being medically unfit.