Stephen Hubert Christian (Hughie) Wallace

Ancestry.com
The Serpentine by Neil J. Coy pp 176-177
Personal Information
Date of Birth	25 Jun 1888
Place of Birth	Warrnambool, Victoria
Death	4 Jul 1918
Place of Death	Bony, France
Age at Enlistment	28 years, 2 months
Occupation	teacher
Religion	Church of England
Address	Bryn-Avol, Mundijong, Western Australia
Next of Kin	Step Mother Mrs Elizabeth Mary Wallace
Military Information
Reg Number	2722
Date of Enlistment	4 Sep 1916
Rank	Corporal
Unit/Formation	44th Battalion, 6th Reinforcement to C Company / 11th Brigade, 3rd Division
Date of Embarkation	29 Dec 1916 - 3 Mar 1917
Ship Embarked On	HMAT A34 Persic
Fate	Wounded in Action 4 Jul 1918 Hamel Killed in Action 29 Sep 1918 Bony north of St Quentin.
Monument	Mundijong
Medals	British War Medal Victory Medal

War Service

Entered camp on 4 Sep 1916, and was initially allocated to the 18th reinforcement draft for the 28th Battalion on 14 Sep 1916. Transferred to a depot company on 16 Oct 1916 he was promoted Corporal on 22 Nov 1916 and allocated to the 6th reinforcement draft for the 44th Battalion on 15 Dec 1916, travelling with them to England.

On arrival in England reverted to Private and was sent to the 11th Training Battalion at Sutton Mandeville, where on 1 May 1917 he was appointed Lance Corporal, and qualified at Tidworth as an instructor at the SC Bombing School Lyndhurst.

Proceeded overseas to France through Southampton on 17 Sep 1917, reverting to the ranks on doing so. Taken on strength of the 44th Battalion at Poperinghe on 29 Sep 1917.

Wounded in action on 4 Jul 1918 at Hamel where the 44th Battalion's task was to take the second set of objectives, with the battalion splitting into two halves and moved around either side of the village. They continued on and 'mopped up' a small wood near the village and the trenches immediately to the east of the village, and this was where they met significant machine gun fire. Hughie's injury was a shell wound to his left thigh and after being attended to by the 13th Australian Field Ambulance, he was sent back to the 47th Casualty Clearing Station. By the next day (5 Jul 1918) Hughie was admitted to the 12th General Hospital in Rouen. A day later he was moved on again, this time to the 2nd Convalescent Depot.

By 11 Jul 1918 Hughie was well enough to be transferred to the 3rd Division's Base Depot to await a recall to the 44th Battalion. With fit soldiers at a premium the call came quickly and he was back with the 44th Battalion near Foully where they were carrying out salvaging work.

On 29 Sep 1918, the 44th Battalion was in action approaching the Hindenburg Line, and tasked with breaching it. However, as they approached the Malakoff Farm they were pinned down my machine gun fire from enemy troops not cleaned out by the preceding group. Clearing them, they pushed on to the vicinity of the of the Somme Canal Tunnel before being forced back and then pinned down by well concealed and accurate enemy machine gun fire.

Red Cross file:

"He came from Western Australia. He was first wounded in the arm by Machine Gun fire at the Hindenburg Line near Bullecourt. He stood up to go to the Dressing Station, when he was hit again in the eye and killed outright. I do not know if his body was buried." Wilkinson A. H. Pte 2909

"I saw him killed by a Machine Gun bullet at the Hindenburg Line. He was killed on the spot and buried close to where he fell. I cannot say if a cross was put up. He was a school teacher at Claremont, and was in the same Coy. He was a signaller." Salter G.F. LCpl 614

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  Villers Bretonneux Memorial 2015 photo L.Reynolds
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  44th Battalion panel 2015 photo L.Reynolds