Ernest PLATER

Regimental number4862
Place of birthBow, London, England
SchoolCooper's school, Now, London, England
Age on arrival in Australia16
ReligionChurch of England
OccupationFarm labourer
Address34 Glassop Street, Balmain, Sydney, New South Wales
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation22
Height5' 9"
Weight154 lbs
Next of kinMother, Mrs H. Plater, 34 Glassop Street, Balmain, Sydney, New South Wales
Previous military serviceNil
Enlistment date21 August 1915
Date of enlistment from Nominal Roll10 September 1915
Place of enlistmentWarwick Farm, New South Wales
Rank on enlistmentPrivate
Unit name2nd Battalion, 15th Reinforcement
AWM Embarkation Roll number23/19/3
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A15 Star of England on 8 March 1916
Rank from Nominal RollPrivate
Unit from Nominal Roll54th Battalion
FateKilled in Action 20 July 1916
Age at death from cemetery records23
Place of burialNo known grave
Commemoration detailsV.C. Corner (Panel No 11), Australian Cemetery Memorial, Fromelles, France
Panel number, Roll of Honour,
  Australian War Memorial
159
Miscellaneous information from
  cemetery records
Parents: Captain H.R.F. PLATER and Mrs H.A.H. PLATER, 34 Glassop Street, Balmain, New South Wales
Family/military connectionsBrothers: 32 Pte Richard PLATER, 5th Machine Gun Bn, returned to Australia, 8 April 1917;4863 Pte Walter PLATER, 5th Traffic Control Detachment, returned to Australia, 2 June 1919.
Other details

War service: Egypt, Western Front

Joined 54th Bn, Ferry Post, 20 April 1916.

Embarked Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force, 19 June 1916; disembarked Marseilles, France, 29 June 1916.

Posted missing, 20 July 1916.

Previously report of missing now, 28 July 1916, to be reported as 'Killed in Action, 20 July 1916'.

Handwritten note on B.103 (p.12 of file) 'Burial Reported by O[fficer] C[ommanding] 54th Bn'.

Note, Red Cross File No 2170205: 'No trace Germany[.] Cert. by Capt. Mills 10-10-19.'

Statement, 4865 Pte A.R. POWELL, D Company, 54th Bn, 17 August 1916: 'I saw Plater after the charge in the German second trench we took at Fleurbaix on July 19th. He was there unwounded when we started to dig. It is quite likely he was taken prisoner in the retirement next morning, when the Germans outflanked us.'

Second statement, 4407 Pte G.H. BUCKLEY, 54th Bn (patient, 1st Australian Auxiliary Hospital, Harefield, England), 20 September 1916: 'He belonged to my section and [I] knew him well. He was killed in the fighting in the German trenches near Fleurbaix.'

Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal
SourcesNAA: B2455, PLATER Ernest
Red Cross file 2170205