Regimental number | 269 |
Date of birth | |
Place of birth | Williamstown, Victoria |
School | Guildford State School, Victoria |
Religion | Church of England |
Occupation | Clerk |
Address | 1 Leek Street, Yarraville, Victoria |
Marital status | Single |
Age at embarkation | 23 |
Height | 5' 7" |
Weight | 136 lbs |
Next of kin | Mother, Mrs A Binns, 1 Leek Street, Yarraville, Victoria |
Previous military service | Served for 3 years in the 6th Infantry Regiment; 2 years as Lieutenant, 56th Regiment (Yarra Borderers), Citizen Military Forces. |
Enlistment date | |
Place of enlistment | Richmond, Victoria |
Rank on enlistment | Colour Sergeant |
Unit name | 6th Battalion, C Company |
AWM Embarkation Roll number | 23/23/1 |
Embarkation details | Unit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board Transport A20 Hororata on |
Rank from Nominal Roll | Captain |
Unit from Nominal Roll | 6th Battalion |
Fate | Returned to Australia |
Miscellaneous details (Nominal Roll) | Died at sea on the voyage back to Australia. |
Date of death | |
Age at death | 27 |
Place of burial | At sea |
Commemoration details | Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, France Villers-Bretonneux is a village about 15 km east of Amiens. The Memorial stands on the high ground ('Hill 104') behind the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery, Fouilloy, which is about 2 km north of Villers-Bretonneux on the east side of the road to Fouilloy. The Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux is approached through the Military Cemetery, at the end of which is an open grass lawn which leads into a three-sided court. The two pavilions on the left and right are linked by the north and south walls to the back (east) wall, from which rises the focal point of the Memorial, a 105 foot tall tower, of fine ashlar. A staircase leads to an observation platform, 64 feet above the ground, from which further staircases lead to an observation room. This room contains a circular stone tablet with bronze pointers indicating the Somme villages whose names have become synonymous with battles of the Great War; other battle fields in France and Belgium in which Australians fought; and far beyond, Gallipoli and Canberra. On the three walls, which are faced with Portland stone, are the names of 10,885 Australians who were killed in France and who have no known grave. The 'blocking course' above them bears the names of the Australian Battle Honours. After the war an appeal in Australia raised £22,700, of which £12,500 came from Victorian school children, with the request that the majority of the funds be used to build a new school in Villers-Bretonneux. The boys' school opened in May 1927, and contains an inscription stating that the school was the gift of Victorian schoolchildren, twelve hundred of whose fathers are buried in the Villers-Bretonneux cemetery, with the names of many more recorded on the Memorial. Villers-Bretonneux is now twinned with Robinvale, Victoria, which has in its main square a memorial to the links between the two towns. |
Panel number, Roll of Honour, Australian War Memorial | 46 |
Medals |
Military Cross 'For conspicuous gallantry during the consolidation of a position, when he and his men dug a firing line in broad daylight under heavy sniping fire. When the line was heavily bombarded later he shifted his men to shell holes in front, thus saving many lives.'
Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 184 Date: |
Family/military connections | Pte Arthur Lawrence BINNS, killed in action. |
Other details |
War service: Egypt, Gallipoli, Western Front Embarked Alexandria to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, Gallipoli, 5 April 1915. Promoted 2nd Lieutenant, 28 April 1915; Lieutenant, 15 July 1915. Admitted to Australian Casualty Hospital, Anzac, 19 August 1915 (diarrhoea), and transferred to Mudros; admitted to HS 'Assaye', 25 August 1915; transferred to Alexandria, 30 August 1915 (enteritis); admitted to 17th General Hospital, Alexandria, 31 August 1915 (diarrhoea: moderate); transferred to British Red Cross Convalescent Hospital, Montazah, 5 October 1915; discharged to duty, 23 October 1915. Medals: Military Cross, 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal |
Date of death | |
Sources | NAA: B2455, BINNS Percival |