The AIF Project

Harold CROUCHER

Regimental number814
Date of birth1893
Place of birthKiewa, Victoria
ReligionChurch of England
OccupationLabourer
AddressDederang via Yackandandah, Victoria
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation21
Height5' 6.25"
Weight158 lbs
Next of kinMother, Mrs Alice Elizabeth Croucher, Dederang via Yackandandah, Victoria
Previous military service16th Light Horse Trainee
Enlistment date21 November 1914
Date of enlistment from Nominal Roll21 November 1914
Place of enlistmentBright, Victoria
Rank on enlistmentPrivate
Unit name8th Light Horse Regiment, 4th Reinforcement
AWM Embarkation Roll number10/13/2
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A18 Wiltshire on 13 April 1915
Rank from Nominal RollPrivate
Unit from Nominal Roll8th Light Horse Regiment
FateDied of wounds 20 June 1915
Place of death or woundingGallipoli, Turkey
Age at death23
Age at death from cemetery records22
Place of burialAt Sea
Commemoration detailsThe Lone Pine Memorial (Panel 6), 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
6
Miscellaneous information from
  cemetery records
Parents: Henry Joseph and Alice Elizabeth CROUCHER
Family/military connectionsBrother: 2890 Pte Neil Renfred CROUCHER, 45th Bn, died of wounds, 13 June 1917. Another brother, Alick, enlisted but did not embark.
Other details

War service: Egypt, Gallipoli

Taken on strength, 8th Light Horse Regiment, 4 June 1915.

Wounded in action, 19 June 1915; admitted to New Zealand Field Ambulance, Gallipoli, 19 June 1915; died of wounds on board HS 'Gascon', 20 June 1915 (gun shot wound, abdomen); buried at sea, 3 miles off Gaba Tepe, 20 June 1915.

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

1914-15 Star marked returned, 10 May 1923
SourcesNAA: B2455, CROUCHER Harold
McQuilton, John., Rural Australia and the Great War: From Tarrawingee to Tangambalanga, MUP, 2001.

Print format    


© The AIF Project 2024, UNSW Canberra. Not to be reproduced without permission.