World War I Commemorative Website

War Memorial Hall  c1929

Memorial Hall circa 1929
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Henry Fyfe ANGUS

ANGUS

Henry Angus was born on 16 February 1892 in Pyramid Hill, Victoria. His parents were Henry and Margaret (née Wilson) Angus. He attended Scotch in 1913.

Henry was a student on his enlistment form and a grazier on the roll of honour circular when he enlisted on 17 August 1914 in Melbourne. He served in the 5th Battalion with the rank of Sergeant. His Regimental Number was 616.

Henry died on 25 July 1916 at Pozieres. He was 24 years of age.

Service record

Henry Angus, called ‘Fife’ Angus in his unit, was the son of the member for Gunbower in the Victorian state parliament. He was an ‘original’ of the 5th Battalion, enlisting in August 1914. He embarked for the Middle East in October 1914. In December he suffered the first of various ailments that would take him from the unit. He was hospitalised for a week with ‘heat rash’. He developed an abscess on the neck in early April 1915, and was in hospital when the unit landed at Gallipoli. However he was with them by 18 May. On that day he was admitted to a field ambulance with cellulitis, a bacterial infection, but rejoined his unit on 28 May. He was promoted to Corporal in August, before being evacuated ill again in September, this time with haemorrhoids.

In October he returned to Gallipoli from Lemnos, and in November was promoted to Sergeant. In March 1916 he disembarked with his battalion at Marseille. He was reported ‘Missing in action’ at Pozieres on 25 July 1916. The Red Cross Wounded and Missing file on Angus contained a large number of entries, with differing information. Most agreed that he was wounded by a shell in no man’s land, and that his close friend, company clerk Lance Corporal Robert Allan had jumped out of the trench to save him. Allan’s number was 621 and he was originally in F Company, Angus’ original company – though unlike many members of that company he was not a private school boy. Allan was killed in the attempt to save his great mate, who died soon afterwards.

A court of inquiry in June 1917 reported Angus to have been ‘killed in action’. On the Roll of Honour circular filled in for the official historian, the Principal, W.S. Littlejohn, was listed as a person the historian could ask for further information. Henry’s medical record suggests someone whose frequent absences might have raised eyebrows in the unit, but the opposite impression comes in a letter that appeared in his Scotch obituary and was reportedly signed by various members of the unit, mostly former public schoolboys. It read in part: ‘From end to end of the company Sergeant Angus was respected for his gentility and gallantry; he was admired, especially by the men of his platoon, for his cool, courageous bravery and resource; he was esteemed by his superior officers because of his commanding abilities and his sterling soldierly qualifications. Those of us who have been with him through two tedious, trying, memorable years look back upon his memory with pride. He lived the life of a gentleman: he died the death of a soldier. He died just where it might be expected, leading a forlorn hope across No Man’s Land, in the very teeth of the enemy.’

Henry Angus has no known grave but is commemorated at the Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, France.

Sources:

  1. Australian War Memorial – Roll of Honour and Red Cross Wounded and Missing File
  2. Mishura Scotch Database
  3. National Archives of Australia – B2455, ANGUS HF
  4. Scotch Collegian 1917
  5. The AIF Project - https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=6133

Page last updated: 11 November 2015