Harold V Marshall

Personal Information
Date of Birth	not known 1893
Place of Birth	South Melbourne, Victoria
Death	9 Aug 1916
Place of Death	near Poziéres, France
Age at Enlistment	22 years, 10 months
Description	5'7¾" (1.m) tall; weight 145 lbs (kg); fair complexion, greenish eyes, reddish hair.
Occupation	Railway employee
Religion	Roman Catholic
Address	NOK 191 Nelson road, Alfred Park, Victoria
Next of Kin	Sister Miss Edith Marshall
Military Information
Reg Number	2019
Date of Enlistment	14 Feb 1915
Rank	Private
Unit/Formation	16th Battalion, 5th Reinforcements, posted to A Company
Date of Embarkation	18 Feb 1915
Ship Embarked On	HMAT A20 Hororata
Fate	Died of Wounds 9 Aug 1916
Monument	Armadale War Memorial (West Armadale panel) Villers-Bretonneux Memorial Armadale and Districts Roll of Honour
Medals	1914-15 Star British War Medal Victory Medal

War Service

Taken on strength by the 16th Battalion at Gallipoli on 13 Jul 1915. On 10 Aug 1915 he reported sick. Harold arrived In Alexandria on 16 Aug 1915 aboard HMHS Neuralia suffering with dysentery. Admitted the same day to the 1st Australian General Hospital before being released to the 1st Australian Auxiliary Hospital on 13 Sep 1915. A week later he was transferred to their Convalescent Depot and returned to duty on 5 Oct 1915.

On 18 Oct 1915 he boarded HMT Kalyan in Alexandria and rejoined his unit on Lemnos on 23 Oct 1915. His record is silent on when he returned to Gallipoli, with the next entry being his arrival back in Alexandria from Mudross Harbour aboard HMAT A11 Ascanius on 30 Dec 1915 which had left Mudros on the 27th. However he is listed in "The Old Sixteenth" (with the wrong Reg No 2919) as being a part of the 'A' Echelon of the battalion which was evacuated on the second day i.e. 5:20 pm on 19 Dec 1915.

Ill from either the effects of VD, or from appendicitis (his records shows both), he was admitted to the 1st Australian Stationary Hospital in Ismailia via the 4th Australian Field Ambulance on 27 Jan 1916, before returning to his unit on 1 Feb 1916. The next few months were occupied with the enlargement of the number of Australian units, before on 1 Jun 1916 when the 16th Battalion boarded the HMT Canada for Marseilles in France where it arrived on 7 Jan 1916.

Late on 9 Aug 1916 the battalion moved into the front lines near Poziéres. It was tasked with attacking Circular Trench, midway between Poziéres and Mouquet Farm. They captured their objective by midnight and consolidated before on the 10th being very heavily bombarded by the German artillery. On the 11th the battalion captured some other trenches in their vicinity before facing a full counter attack at 1:40pm on 11 Aug 1916. By soon after 3:00pm the attack had faulted under heavy Australian rifle and machine gun fire. On the morning of 12 Aug 1916 the Australian positions were again subject to very heavy bombardment causing casualties. Later that afternoon they were replaced in the line and returned to the rear pursued by what was described as a vindictive bombardment that followed them all the way.

It is not known when Harold was killed, having been initially reported as wounded and evacuated to the 4th Australian Field Ambulance. However, a written statement made on 14 Apr 1917 by 2190 Pte J Pekin was later grounds for declaring Harold to have been Killed in Action.

On the morning of the 9/8/16 I saw the body of 2019 Pte Marshall late of 16th Battalion A.I.F. waiting for burial. I am sure it was he, as he was a personal friend of mine.

.

On 19 May 1917 he was finally declared to have been KIA on 8 Aug 1916. However a letter to his sister from a two of his friends sets out the circumstances in which he lost his life on 9 Aug 1916. Injured by a shell during the bombardment on the 9th, he was carried from the field on a stretcher. He was treated and placed aside ready to be taken further back in the morning, but in the morning a friend found him (Perkin). Seemingly he died of shock from his wounds during the night of 9/10 Aug 1916.

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  Villers-Bretonneux Memorial
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  photos L. Reynolds 2015