World War I Commemorative Website

War Memorial Hall  c1929

Memorial Hall circa 1929
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Horace Hanton GRAHAM

GRAHAM

Horace Graham was born on 30 January 1894 in Rockhampton, Queensland. His parents were Ernest Edward and Margaret (née Steele) Graham. He attended Scotch from 1909 to 1913. He was a boarder.

Horace was a stockman when he enlisted on 4 January 1916 at Rockhampton, Queensland. He served in the 52nd Battalion with the rank of Private. His Regimental Number was 1645.

Horace died on 16 October 1917 at Passchendaele, Belgium. He was 23 years of age.

Service record

At 5 feet 3½ inches (161 centimetres), Horace was very short among Scotch recruits. On enlistment in Rockhampton, Queensland, he was initially allotted to the 6th Depot Battalion, then the 13th Depot Battalion (later 13th Training Battalion). After arriving in Egypt in May 1916 he was allotted to and joined the 52nd Battalion.

In June he proceeded with the battalion to Marseille, France. On the night of 3/4 September 1916 he was wounded in the right shoulder at Pozieres, and had to be evacuated to England. There his wound was characterised as affecting his back. On 16 February 1917 he was released for two weeks’ furlough.

For six months he was with the 69th Battalion in England, but on 21 September 1917, more than a year after he was wounded, he rejoined the 52nd Battalion on the Western Front. Within 25 days he had been killed in action.

Horace’s service file is an unusually lengthy one, largely because of papers relating to the destination of his personal effects and the War Gratuity payable at his death. His father and mother lived apart, and there was much disagreement as to who should receive what. His younger brother Arthur seems to have been the main recipient. Horace’s epitaph reads ‘In memory of the dearly loved son of Mr. and Mrs. Graham’.

Horace Graham is buried in the Passchendaele New British Cemetery (Plot XIII, Row B, Grave No. 3), Belgium.

Sources:

  1. Australian War Memorial – Roll of Honour
  2. Commonwealth War Graves Commission website
  3. Mishura Scotch Database
  4. National Archives of Australia – B2455, GRAHAM H H
  5. Scotch Collegian 1919
  6. The AIF Project - https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=116075

Page last updated: 11 November 2015