The AIF Project

Henry BENSON

Regimental number167
Place of birthMelbourne, Victoria
ReligionChurch of England
OccupationChauffeur
Address14 Cromwell Street, Collingwood, Victoria
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation20
Height5' 3.75"
Weight142 lbs
Next of kinFather, Henry Benson, 14 Cromwell Street, Collingwood, Victoria
Previous military serviceNil
Enlistment date18 August 1914
Place of enlistmentMelbourne, Victoria
Rank on enlistmentPrivate
Unit name6th Battalion, B Company
AWM Embarkation Roll number23/23/1
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A20 Hororata on 19 October 1914
Rank from Nominal RollPrivate
Unit from Nominal Roll6th Battalion
FateDied of wounds 14 July 1915
Place of death or woundingGallipoli, Turkey
Age at death21
Place of burialAt sea
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.

Panel number, Roll of Honour,
  Australian War Memorial
45
Miscellaneous information from
  cemetery records
Will, 24 April 1915: 'As we are landing at daybreak in the morning & expect to be under fire I take this opportunity of making out this short will. If I have the misfortune to be killed in action I ask the comrade who finds me to send the contents of the hankerchief found in my top pocket to my mother - next of kin.'
Other details

War service: Egypt, Gallipoli

Embarked Alexandria to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, Gallipoli, 5 April 1915.

Will, 24 April 1915, on board Troopship 'Galeka': 'As we are landing at daybreak in the morning & expect to be under fire I take this opportunity of making out this short will. If I have the misfortune to be killed in action I ask the comrade who finds me to send the contents of the hankerchief found in my top pocket to my mother - next of kin.'

Wounded in action, 13 July 1915 (gun shot wound, thigh).

Died of wounds at sea on board HS 'Gascon', 5.50 am, 14 July 1915.

Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
Miscellaneous detailsFull name: Henry Ernest BENSON
SourcesNAA: B2455, BENSON Henry

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