The AIF Project

Arthur Gordon BALFOUR

Regimental number2565
Place of birthBallarat, Victoria
ReligionChurch of England
OccupationBlacksmiths striker
AddressYarraville, Victoria
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation23
Height5' 7.5"
Weight154 lbs
Next of kinMother, Mrs M Balfour, cnr Francis Street, Yarraville, Victoria
Previous military serviceServed for 2.5 years in the 7th Infantry, Citizen Military Forces.
Enlistment date25 June 1915
Date of enlistment from Nominal Roll25 June 1915
Place of enlistmentMelbourne, Victoria
Rank on enlistmentPrivate
Unit name6th Battalion, 8th Reinforcement
AWM Embarkation Roll number23/23/2
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A68 Anchises on 26 August 1915
Rank from Nominal RollPrivate
Unit from Nominal Roll59th Battalion
FateKilled in Action 19 July 1916
Place of death or woundingFromelles, France
Date of death19 July 1916
Place of burialNo known grave
Commemoration detailsV.C. Corner Australian Cemetery Memorial, Fromelles, France
Panel number, Roll of Honour,
  Australian War Memorial
166
Other details

War service: Egypt, Gallipoli, Western Front

Joined 6th Bn, Lemnos, 31 October 1915.

Disembarked Alexandria, 7 January 1916 (general Gallipoli evacuation).

Transferred to 58th Bn, 17 February 1916; taken on strength of 58th Bn, Serapeum, 17 February 1916.

Transferred to 59th Bn, 19 May 1916; taken on strength of 59th Bn, Ferry Post, 19 May 1916.

Embarked Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force, 18 June 1916; disembarked Marseilles, France, 29 June 1916.

Posted missing, 19 July 1916.

Court of Enquiry, held in the field, 29 August 1917, pronounced fate as 'Killed in Action, 19 July 1916'.

Note on B.103, 'presumed buried in No Man's Land approx at 5J9043 to 5K0251 Sheet Hazebrouck 5a'.

Statement, Red Cross File No 210204, 4588 Pte C.H. SAUNDERS, D Company, 59th Bn (patient, Woodcote Park Hospital, England), 2 October 1916:'During the advance at Fleurbaix, informant saw Balfour severely wounded in the leg. Informant bandaged the wound as well as he could and told him to make his way back to the dressing station - not seen since.'

Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
SourcesNAA: B2455, BALFOUR Arthur Gordon
Red Cross file 210204

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