Roy Huggins
History
Roy Huggins was born at Warrenheip in 1896. He was one of nine children born to Edward Huggins and Nannie Vincent. He attended Warrenheip State School, and the Sunday School at the Methodist Church at Gong Gong. After leaving school, Roy went to work as a labourer and was, when World War One broke out, working at the local brewery Kenna's Brewery. He volunteered on 04 July 1916. After successfully passing the medical examination, Roy immediately went into camp at Ballarat. He was assigned to the 21st reinforcements allocated to the 8th Battalion and the officers for the voyage to England were Lieutenant Bill Catron and Second Lieutenant Reg Hutson. Whilst Hutson was himself a Ballarat man, Catron had established strong ties to the town through his civilian occupation as a State School teacher.[1]
The trip to England took six and a half weeks and the troops disembarked at Plymouth on 16 November 1916. Five days later Roy marched into camp at Fovant to join the 2nd Training Battalion. He spent more than two months on the Salisbury Plain before embarking on the SS Victoria from Folkestone on 4 February 1917, bound for France. After only a few days at the Australian Divisional Base Depot at Étaples, Roy joined the strength of the 8th Battalion at Bazentin-le-petit in the Somme sector on 10 February. While there he caught up with his older brother George, who was on active service with the 60th Battalion. Just two days later Roy Huggins was dead.[2]
In a tragic twist of fate, the 8th Battalion had been due to be relieved in the line, but the move was postponed for a day so that work the men were familiar with could be completed. And so it was that Roy was still in the frontline at Bazentin-le-petit on Monday 12 February 1917. The 5th Battalion had taken part in a trench raid the day before and retaliatory enemy shellfire caused a number of significant casualties along the Flers line. Roy was caught by one of the shell blast and badly wounded. The stretcher-bearers carried him to the 1/1st South Midland Casualty Clearing Station, where he was found to be suffering from a severely fractured skull and a compound fracture of his right leg. He died a short time later time later.[3]
Chaplain J. W. Grayson performed the sad task of burying Roy’s body in the Dernancourt Communal Cemetery Extension, which lies 2½ miles from Albert.[4]
Legacy
World War One service recognised on the Ballarat Avenue of Honour.
See also
George R. V. Huggins, brother
Harold L. Huggins, brother
Notes
References
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/GreatWarBallarat/posts/1832516956794571, accessed 28 March 2018.
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/GreatWarBallarat/posts/1832516956794571, accessed 28 March 2018.
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/GreatWarBallarat/posts/1832516956794571, accessed 28 March 2018.
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/GreatWarBallarat/posts/1832516956794571, accessed 28 March 2018.
Further Reading
External links
https://www.facebook.com/GreatWarBallarat/posts/1832516956794571
--Beth Kicinski 10:43, 23 August 2013 (EST); --Clare K.Gervasoni 20:19, 28 March 2018 (AEDT)