Private Edward James Hope - No: 4188 - 54th Battalion, Australian Infantry Forces.

Does anybody know if this soldier was one of the soldiers found at Fromelles ?

Private Edward James Hope - No: 4188 - 54th Battalion, Australian Infantry Forces. K.I.A. near Fromelles, France. On Memorial Panel 159, 7 VC Corner, Australian Cemetery, France. Enlisted on 23rd September, 1915 into the 2nd Battalion, 13th Reinforcements. He left Australia on the "A60 HMAT Aeneas" on the 20th December, 1915 and after his arrival in Egypt the divisions were split in half and he was allocated to the 54th Battalion on the 16th February, 1916. He embarked at Alexandria on the "HMAT Caledonian" on the 19th June, 1916 and disembarked at Marseilles bound for the Western Front. He was reported missing on the 21st July, 1916 during the Battle for Poziers but was upgraded to KIA after the German authorities handed over paybooks of dead Australian soldiers. Member soldiers of his 54th Battalion had seen him killed and because there was no body (it was thought that the Germans buried the body after taking his paybook) he was declared KIA on the 20th July, 1916.

Annie

 

Re: Private Edward James Hope - No: 4188 - 54th Battalion, Australian Infantry Forces

Annie

He is listed on the Fromelles database (but not confirmed) so there is a good chance that he was.

http://www.fromelles.net/

about 2/3rds of the way down.

Glen

 

Re: Private Edward James Hope - No: 4188 - 54th Battalion, Australian Infantry Forces

Oh boy Glen ! why didn't I look there ??

Thank you !

Annie

 

Re: Private Edward James Hope - No: 4188 - 54th Battalion, Australian Infantry Forces

Have you got his service record from NAA?

 

Re: Private Edward James Hope - No: 4188 - 54th Battalion, Australian Infantry Forces

No I don't Glen ! ... did you find it ?

Annie

 

Re: Private Edward James Hope - No: 4188 - 54th Battalion, Australian Infantry Forces

Yes...but it's 50 pages long. Go to http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/recordsearch/index.aspx and do a Name Search or we can work something out.

 

Re: Private Edward James Hope - No: 4188 - 54th Battalion, Australian Infantry Forces

OK ! I got it !! I'll go read now !!

 

Re: Private Edward James Hope - No: 4188 - 54th Battalion, Australian Infantry Forces

How terribly sad ! his sister must have been demented .... with the uncertainty of it all !

Annie