Henry Charles WRIGHT

Regimental number2505
Place of birthManilla New South Wales
ReligionChurch of England
OccupationLabourer
AddressOakham Street, Boggabri, New South Wales
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation25
Next of kinFather, H C Wright, Oakham Street, Boggabri, New South Wales
Enlistment date31 July 1915
Rank on enlistmentPrivate
Unit name18th Battalion, 5th Reinforcement
AWM Embarkation Roll number23/35/2
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A32 Themistocles on 5 October 1915
Rank from Nominal RollPrivate
Unit from Nominal Roll18th Battalion
FateReturned to Australia 10 April 1919
Medals

Military Medal


Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 184
Date: 14 December 1916

Meritorious Service Medal

'Has been R.S.M. of the 18th Battalion since 1st January 1918. During this period he has been most consistently hardworking and energetic. One of the duties with which he has been charged as R.S.M. is the receiving of supplies from transport in the line, and the supervision of their distribution. This has seldom been easy and has during recent months often involved great difficulty and personal risk. The work has however been so well performed that no hitch has occurred. Owing to his energy and care no item of rations or supplies has gone astray, and carrying parties have been enabled to work smoothly. On one occasion - viz., when the Bn. H.Q. was subjected to heavy gas shelling on 27th May 1918, the rations arrived when the bombardment was heaviest. R.S.M. WRIGHT kept the ration parties clear of the gassed area, and himself, with the assistance of two others, unloaded the whole of the transport and enabled it to get clear within a quarter of an hours. During this period he had to work with a box respirator on amid plunging horses and with gas shells falling in the vicinity. His work in the care and manipulation of our ammunition supply has been most valuable. On the 19th May 1918 during the minor operation near MORLANCOURT he several times personally conducted parties forward and his personal endeavour was largely responsible for the fact that a more than adequate supply of ammunition was established in the new front line with an hour of its capture.In the operations of 8th and 9th August 1918 the headquarters officers were more than fully occupied and the disposal of H.Q. details - cooks anti-aircraft Lewis Gun section etc - rested almost entirely on him. The results could not have been better. A.A. Guns were mounted at the earliest possible moment in the best positions, cooking arrangements were satisfactorily made and no sign of a hitch with transport and supplies occurred. His general work has been beyond praise. He has spared no personal effort, and, in and out of the line, has done far more than his duty - It is impossible to enumerate the many instances in which he has done - management of transport and ration parties under heavy shelling at PLOEGSTEERT, MORLANCOURT and VILLERS BRETONNEUX, and visits to new lines at MORLANCOURT and during recent fighting - instances which, though perhaps not suitable for an immediate reward have yet made a constant demand upon him. He has the supreme faculty of 'getting a job done' and invariably makes sure by personal work that it is done.'
Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 67
Date: 3 June 1919

Family/military connectionsBrother: 2504 Pte John Victor WRIGHT, 53rd Bn, killed in action, 26 September 1917.
Other detailsMedals: Military Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
Date of death6 November 1966
Place of burialRookwood Crematorium