The AIF Project

Ernest Wills BEER

Regimental number1913
Place of birthMackay Queensland
ReligionChurch of England
OccupationButcher
AddressClutha House, Williamstown Road, Yarraville, Victoria
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation19
Next of kinMother, Mrs R Beer, Clutha House, Williamstown Road, Yarraville, Victoria
Enlistment date30 January 1915
Date of enlistment from Nominal Roll2 March 1915
Rank on enlistmentPrivate
Unit name6th Battalion, 5th Reinforcement
AWM Embarkation Roll number23/23/2
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A20 Hororata on 17 April 1915
Rank from Nominal RollPrivate
Unit from Nominal Roll6th Battalion
FateDied of wounds 9 August 1915
Miscellaneous details (Nominal Roll)*Ernest spelt Earnest
Place of death or woundingLone Pine, Gallipoli
Date of death9 August 1915
Age at death17.4
Age at death from cemetery records17
Place of burialNo known grave
Commemoration detailsThe Lone Pine Memorial (Panel 26), Gallipoli, Turkey

The Lone Pine Memorial, situated in the Lone Pine Cemetery at Anzac, is the main Australian Memorial on Gallipoli, and one of four memorials to men of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Designed by Sir John Burnet, the principal architect of the Gallipoli cemeteries, it is a thick tapering pylon 14.3 metres high on a square base 12.98 metres wide. It is constructed from limestone mined at Ilgardere in Turkey.

The Memorial commemorates the 3268 Australians and 456 New Zealanders who have no known grave and the 960 Australians and 252 New Zealanders who were buried at sea after evacuation through wounds or disease. The names of New Zealanders commemorated are inscribed on stone panels mounted on the south and north sides of the pylon, while those of the Australians are listed on a long wall of panels in front of the pylon and to either side. Names are arranged by unit and rank.

The Memorial stands over the centre of the Turkish trenches and tunnels which were the scene of heavy fighting during the August offensive. Most cemeteries on Gallipoli contain relatively few marked graves, and the majority of Australians killed on Gallipoli are commemorated here.

Miscellaneous information from
  cemetery records
Parents: Arthur Wills and Rose Edith BEER, Clutho House, Williamstown Road, Yarraville, Victoria. Native of Mackay, Queensland
Family/military connections5369 Lt FF DUNN, MM, 6th Battalion (relationship unknown: cousin?)
Other details

War service: Egypt, Gallipoli

Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal

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