Reginald Peter Lewis
From Our Contribution
 Courtesy Joy Dalgleish | |
|
Ancestry Haynes Family Tree | |
| Personal Information | |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth |
not known "not known" contains an extrinsic dash or other characters that are invalid for a date interpretation. |
| Place of Birth | Jarrahdale, Western Australia |
| Death | 29 Aug 1918 |
| Place of Death | Flaucourt, France |
| Age at Enlistment | 28 years old |
| Occupation | Mill hand |
| Religion | Methodist |
| Address | Jarrahdale, Western Australia |
| Next of Kin | Wife , Mrs Grace Myrtle Lewis |
| Military Information | |
| Reg Number | 5038 |
| Date of Enlistment | 20 Mar 1916 |
| Rank | Private |
| Unit/Formation | 28th Battalion, 13th Reinforcement / 7th Brigade, 2nd Division |
| Date of Embarkation | 18 Jul 1916 ‒ 9 Sep 1916 |
| Ship Embarked On | HMAT A48 Seang Bee |
| Fate | Killed in Action 29 Aug 1918 |
| Monument |
Jarrahdale War Memorial Jarrahdale Honour Roll ANZAC Memorial Park (Byford) Australian War Memorial |
| Medals |
British War Medal Victory Medal |
Contents
Pre War
In 1913 Reginald married Grace Myrtle Mildern at Jarrahdale. Grace moved to Anstey street, Mundijong after Reginald went overseas.
War Service
On arrival in England Reg was sent to the 7th Training Battalion at Rollestone camp. On 2 Nov 1916 he proceeded overseas to France on the SS Princess Henriette.
On 14 Nov 1916 he was hospitalised in the 26th General Hospital in Étaples before being evacuated to England on HS Stad Antwerpen from Calais on 21 Nov 1916. On arrival he was admitted to the Norfolk War Hospital before transferring to the 1st Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Harefield on 27 Nov 1916. On 8 Jan 1917 he was discharged from the 1st Australian Auxiliary Hospital to No 2. Command Depot in Weymouth, where he spent 6 weeks recovering before being transferred to Perham Downs and then on to the 70th Battalion.
On 2 Apr 1917 he was charged with having been Out of Bounds, and Neglecting to obey orders for which he was awarded 2 days Field Punishment No 2. and forfeited 10/- ($1). In Sep 1917 he was transferred to the 69th Training Battalion, and then on 14 Oct 1917 he proceeded overseas for a second time, this time via Southampton.
He rejoined the 28th Battalion on 20 Oct 1917 at Watou on the Belgium side of the border west of Poperinge where they were in billets.
Reg was killed during an attack by the 28th Battalion designed to capture the west bank of the Somme River opposite Péronne They captured Flaurcourt without opposition, but ran into heavy machine gun fire as they approached Biaches Wood and the high ground beside the river. Casualties were described by the battalion's War Diary to be "exceedingly light", in what it described to be a "very brilliant action".
At the time of the battle, Reginald's grave could not be located, but it was later found and he was exhumed and reburied in Péronne Communal Cemetery Extension, France (Plot I Row C, Grave No 33)
While there is a Red Cross file for Reg in the Australian War Memorial it contributes nothing further to our knowledge about his death.
Notes
[1] DAH is 'Disordered Action of the Heart' otherwise known as 'Soldier's Heart' or 'Effort Syndrome' and was thought to result from a combination of over exertion, mental stress and fatigue.