Arthur William Griffin

Arthur William Griffin

Personal Information
Date of Birth	Not known
Place of Birth	Malvern, Victoria
Death	4 Oct 1917
Place of Death	Broodseinde, Belgium
Age at Enlistment	23 years, 1 month
Description	5'5¾" (1.67m) tall ; 133lbs 60.328 kg ; dark complexion ; grey eyes ; brown hair
Occupation	Wicker worker
Religion	Church of England
Address	Maddington, Western Australia
Next of Kin	Wife , Mrs Emily Florence Griffin
Military Information
Reg Number	386A
Date of Enlistment	18 Jan 1916
Rank	Private
Unit/Formation	44th Battalion, B Company, transferred to the 28th Battalion
Date of Embarkation	6 Jun 1916 ‒ 21 Jul 1916
Ship Embarked On	HMAT A29 Suevic
Fate	Killed in action 4 Oct 1917 Broodseinde
Monument	none at present Menin Gate Memorial Australian War Memorial
Medals	British War Medal Victory Medal

Pre War

Arthur married Emily Florence Machin in Subiaco in Jun 1916 before he sailed for France.

War Service

Arthur entered camp on 18 Jan 1916 and on 28 Jan 1916 was allocated to B Company of the 44th Battalion, then being raised in WA. After training with them he travelled to England and undertook further training with them on the Salisbury Plain.

On 14 Oct 1916 Arthur proceeded to France through Folkestone aboard HMT Victoria and on 30 Oct 1916 he was taken on strength by the 28th Battalion. On 11 Nov 1916 Arthur was seen by the 5th Australian Field Ambulance and treated for rheumatism. He was seen by the 36th Casualty Clearing Station on 18 Nov 1916 and assessed as suffering with exhaustion and sent on 21 Nov 1916 to the 2nd General Hospital. Released on 28 Nov 1916 to a Convalescent Depot, he didn't rejoin them until 27 Jan 1917. He had one more stay in hospital with illness (Trench Fever), from 28 May to 2 Jul 1917, before being caught up in the battle that became known as Broodseinde.

Initially reported as Wounded in action, this was amended to wounded and missing in action before finally a Court of Enquiry held at Marchienne au-Pous on 19 Mar 1919 when he was declared to have been Killed in Action on 4 Oct 1917. Red Cross File [1]

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  Menin Gate Memorial, Iper, Belgium
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  Section of the 28th Battalion panel

Notes

At time of enlistment his NOK was his father Mr Daniel Griffin of Maddington, WA.

Son Arthur Alfred Griffin was born in Subiaco in 1917, and died 23 Nov 1985 at Meltham. Emily died 21 Nov 1945 aged 52 in Subiaco. Following confirmation of Arthur's death, Emily received a pension of 40/- per fortnight (£2 or $4.00), and she received 20/- or £1 per fortnight for their son Arthur.