Pte
Arthur Roy Ashton

Information about birth

Year of birth:
1885
Place of birth:
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

General information

Profession:
Carpenter

Army information

Country:
Australia
Force:
Australian Imperial Force
Rank:
Private
Service number:
2421
Enlistment date:
21/05/1915
Enlistment place:
Casino, New South Wales, Australia

Information about death

Date of death:
12/10/1917
Place of death:
Gasometer, Zonnebeke, Belgium
Cause of death:
Killed in action (K.I.A.)
Age:
32

Memorial

Points of interest 3

#1 Place of birth
#2 Enlistment place
#3 ‘Place of death’

My story

On 12 October 1917, during the disastrous First Battle of Passchendaele, the 49th Battalion was in close support near Broodseinde. While in support, four young Australians were killed, when a shell hit their dug-out. The dug-out, near a gasometer on the road going towards, Broodseinde collapsed, burying the four alive. Arthur Ashton, 32, William Hayes, 23, Arthur James, 25 and Arthur Siddle, 21 are remembered on the Menin Gate Memorial.

Sources 8

"The Third Ypres Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account", McCarthy C., London, Arms & Armour Press, 1995, pg. 113-114.
Sources used
"To Villers-Bretonneux", Edgar P., Loftus, Australian Military History Publications, 2006, pg. 182-183.
Sources used
AIF-project
https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/search
Sources used
Australian War Memorial
https://www.awm.gov.au/people/roll-search/all/?preferred_name=&service_number=&unit=&conflict=0&op=Search
Sources used
CWGC
http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1597458/ASHTON,%20ARTHUR%20ROY
Sources used
National Archives of Australia
http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/SearchScreens/BasicSearch.aspx
Sources used
The Long, Long Trail
http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/
Sources used
War diary 49th Bn. Australian Infantry
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/awm4/
Sources used