Service Person Research s1

SERVICE PERSON RESEARCH

SERVICE PERSON DETAILS

Service Person’s Edward Lloyd Name

Rank Private

Service Number 2939

Regiment/Unit or 47th Battalion (7th Reinforcements) Ship or Squadron

Date of Birth 11 July 1888

Place of Birth Village of Alberbury, Shropshire, England Family Details Parents: Thomas & Elizabeth Lloyd, Middletown, Shrewsbury, England. Occupation: Laborer Marital Status: Single

Age at Enlistment 28

Place of Enlistment Mackay, Queensland. 9th October 1916

Date of Death 25 January 1963

Place of Death Mackay

Cemetery or Memorial Name Grave or Memorial Number PHOTO:

Portrait of Edward Lloyd (Lloyd Family Collection)

Portrait of Edward Lloyd (seated) in his 16th Lancers Uniform, taken 1913 (Lloyd Family Collection) SERVICE PERSON’S STORY/EULOGY: Prepared by Victoria Lloyd

Edward Lloyd was born in 1888 in Alberbury in Shropshire, England. When the 1911 Census was conducted in April of that year, Edward was recorded as living in Welshpool, being 22 years of age and working as a banking clerk. On 11 December 1912, Edward joined the 16th (The Queen’s) Lancers, a cavalry regiment in the British Army. After a service period of 349 days, he was discharged ‘at his own request and on payment of £18’. On his discharge form his commanding officer noted, ‘This man has only been in the regiment just a year – he is clean and industrious soldier and has always done his work well’.

Sometime between the period of his discharge on 24 November 1913 and November 1914, Edward immigrated to Australia with his younger brother William and settled in the Mackay region. He enlisted in the Australian Lighthorse on Christmas Eve 1914 but was discharged as ‘medically unfit’ on 15 February 1915 due to a back injury. He returned to work as a farmer in Mackay but re-enlisted on 9 October 1916. Interestingly enough on his enlistment paperwork his response to the questions ‘Have you ever been discharged from any part of His Majesty’s Forces’ or ‘Have any previous service’ his answers were ‘No’. Edward embarked the HMAT Marathon in Brisbane on 27 October as part of the 7th Reinforcements for the 47th Battalion.

After almost a 12 week voyage Edward disembarked at Plymouth on 9 January 1917, entering the training camp at Codford the same day. He completed five months training in England before being moved out via Folkestone to 4th Australian Divisional Base Depot (ADBD) at Le Havre in France. A little over five weeks into his training, Edward was charged with neglecting his duty, in that his hut was ‘in a dirty and untidy condition with a fire burning’. His penalty for this offence was the forfeiture of two days’ pay. Edward spent a further two weeks at Base Depot, before being marched out to join his unit on 20 June 1917.

When Edward joined the 47th Battalion they were billeted near Le Doulieu, where they were taking a well- earned rest, having been involved in the assault on the Messines Ridge earlier in the month. Eight days later the battalion moved to the dugouts and tunnels under Hill 63, where they stayed until 17 July. On 18 July the battalion moved back to their former billets near Le Doulieu. Eight days after arriving back in the area, Edward came down with Pyrexia (a very high fever) and was admitted to hospital. When Edward re- joined the battalion on 9 August they were in the trenches in the Wytschaete sector.

On 24 August they moved to the Ypres area and were held in reserve for the forthcoming battle. On 30 September Edward was admitted to a Casualty Clearing Station suffering from influenza and the effects of poisonous gas. He was transferred to a hospital in Boulogne before being evacuated to England where he was admitted to the 4th London General Hospital at Denmark Hill.

He was discharged from the 4th London General Hospital on 17 January 1918, and moved to the 3rd Auxiliary Hospital at Dartford. His health however did not sufficiently improve enough to allow him to return to duty. He was moved to the Command Depot at Hurdcott on 30 January, to await his return to Australia. Edward left England on 13 March 1918 on board the troopship Dunvegan Castle, arriving back in Australia on 22 May 1918. He was formally discharged on medical grounds on 25 June 1918.

On his discharge Edward returned to Sarina and in 1921 he moved to Mirani to take on the role of Shire Clerk, a positon he held until his retirement in 1953. On 17 September 1923 he married Leila Kable, they had three sons, Harold, Roland and David. Edward died on 25 January 1963, aged 74 years and is buried at the Mt Bassett Cemetery in Mackay. Edward Lloyd Park, near the township of Marian is named in his memory.

Medals Awarded: British War medal, Victory Medal. BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Australian War Memorial 2015, 47th Australian Infantry Battalion. Retrieved February, 2015, from http://www.awm.gov.au/unit/U51487/

Bean, C.E.W. 1941, Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918 Volume IV – The Australian Imperial Force in France, 1917. Halstead Press Ltd. Sydney.

Mackay and District War Memorials 2014. Sarina War Memorial. Retrieved February, 2015, from http://www.mackayhistory.org/research/war_memorials/sarina_memorial.html

National Archives of Australia 2014, B2455, LLOYD EDWARD. Retrieved February, 2015, from http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/NameSearch/Interface/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=8206006

The AIF Project 2014,. Edward Lloyd. Retrieved February, 2015, from https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson? pid=178061&printFormat=print