Pte
Parke Proctor Fiskin Halket
Information about birth
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Year of birth: 1894 |
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Place of birth: Thursday Island, Queensland, Australia |
General information
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Last known residence: Cairns, Queensland, Australia |
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Profession: Miner |
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Religion: Church of England |
Army information
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Country: Australia |
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Force: Australian Imperial Force |
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Rank: Private |
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Service number: 21 |
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Enlistment date: 10/12/1915 |
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Enlistment place: Cairns, Queensland, Australia |
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Units: — Australian Infantry, 41st Bn. ( The Byron Scottish ) (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 05/10/1917 |
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Place of death: Brick Kiln & Yard, Zonnebeke, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 23 |
Cemetery
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Tyne Cot Cemetery Plot: XXXVI Row: C Grave: 18 |
Distinctions and medals 2
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British War Medal Medal |
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Victory Medal Medal |
Points of interest 4
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Last known residence | ||
| #3 | Enlistment place | ||
| #4 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Proctor Fiskin Halket Parke, a former miner, was born in January, 1894 in Thursday Island, Queensland, Australia. He was the son of Proctor and Minnie Parke; his step father was Arthur Price. On December 10, 1915 he enlisted in Cairns and embarked from Sydney on board HMAT A64 Demosthenes on May 18, 1916, with the 41st Battalion, part of the 11th Australian Brigade of the 3rd Australian Division.
On the 4th of October 1917 the 41st Australian Infantry Battalion took part in the Battle of Broodseinde, a sub battle in the Battle of Passchendaele. The 3rd Australian Division was to attack along the Ypres-Zonnebeke Railway with the 10th Brigade to left and 11th Brigade to the right. The 11th Australian Brigade planned to attack four objectives in a leapfrog motion. They assigned each battalion under their command to an objective. The 43rd Australian Infantry Battalion had to capture the first objective, the 43rd Battalion the second objective and the 44th Battalion third objective. The 41st Battalion was tasked with capturing the final objective. This was a line running from a point about 150 metres southeast of Tyne Cot Cemetery to a point about 200 metres west of Dairy Wood.
At 5 a.m. on October 4th, 1917, the 41st Australian Infantry Battalion was in position at the assembly position between Dochy Farm and Hill 40. Thirty minutes later a German artillery barrage hit the assembly area and caused slight losses. At 6 a.m. the 11th Australian Brigade attacked. The first objective was quickly captured, followed by the second objective at 7:10 a.m. The third objective was reached by 8.25 a.m. and four minutes later the 41st Battalion passed through the 42nd Battalion holding line and attacked the final objective. This objective was captured around 9:30 a.m. At that time, the battalion estimated that they had about 240 casualties. The 41st Battalion started consolidating the line, with “D”, “C” and “A” Companies on the left, centre and right respectively. “E” and “B” Companies assisted the others in building defences and then withdrew to build their own trench behind the line held by the other companies. During the day and the following night, the Germans counterattacked on many occasions, with large counterattacks at 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. These attacks were repulsed, however. On the 5th of October 1917 the front line was relatively quiet. The following day, at 3 a.m. the 41st Battalion Australian Infantry Battalion was relieved by the 2/6th Manchester Regiment and returned to Ypres without further casualties.
Proctor Fiskin Halket, aged 23, was killed in action on October 5, 1917. Private Parke was initially buried where he fell, southeast of Tokio and Brick Kiln & Yard (28.D.28.c.50.70). After the war, his remains were exhumed and reinterred at Tine Cot Cemetery, Plot XXXVI, Row C, Grave 18.
On the 4th of October 1917 the 41st Australian Infantry Battalion took part in the Battle of Broodseinde, a sub battle in the Battle of Passchendaele. The 3rd Australian Division was to attack along the Ypres-Zonnebeke Railway with the 10th Brigade to left and 11th Brigade to the right. The 11th Australian Brigade planned to attack four objectives in a leapfrog motion. They assigned each battalion under their command to an objective. The 43rd Australian Infantry Battalion had to capture the first objective, the 43rd Battalion the second objective and the 44th Battalion third objective. The 41st Battalion was tasked with capturing the final objective. This was a line running from a point about 150 metres southeast of Tyne Cot Cemetery to a point about 200 metres west of Dairy Wood.
At 5 a.m. on October 4th, 1917, the 41st Australian Infantry Battalion was in position at the assembly position between Dochy Farm and Hill 40. Thirty minutes later a German artillery barrage hit the assembly area and caused slight losses. At 6 a.m. the 11th Australian Brigade attacked. The first objective was quickly captured, followed by the second objective at 7:10 a.m. The third objective was reached by 8.25 a.m. and four minutes later the 41st Battalion passed through the 42nd Battalion holding line and attacked the final objective. This objective was captured around 9:30 a.m. At that time, the battalion estimated that they had about 240 casualties. The 41st Battalion started consolidating the line, with “D”, “C” and “A” Companies on the left, centre and right respectively. “E” and “B” Companies assisted the others in building defences and then withdrew to build their own trench behind the line held by the other companies. During the day and the following night, the Germans counterattacked on many occasions, with large counterattacks at 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. These attacks were repulsed, however. On the 5th of October 1917 the front line was relatively quiet. The following day, at 3 a.m. the 41st Battalion Australian Infantry Battalion was relieved by the 2/6th Manchester Regiment and returned to Ypres without further casualties.
Proctor Fiskin Halket, aged 23, was killed in action on October 5, 1917. Private Parke was initially buried where he fell, southeast of Tokio and Brick Kiln & Yard (28.D.28.c.50.70). After the war, his remains were exhumed and reinterred at Tine Cot Cemetery, Plot XXXVI, Row C, Grave 18.
Sources 4
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11th Brigade Australian Infantry (Australian War Memorial, Campbell (AWM), AWM4 23/11/11). https://www.awm.gov.au/ Sources used |
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41st Battalion Australian Infantry (Australian War Memorial, Campbell (AWM), AWM4 23/58/12). https://www.awm.gov.au/ Sources used |
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First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920 (National Archives of Australia, Canberra (NAA), B2455). https://www.naa.gov.au/ Sources used |
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Unit embarkation nominal rolls, 1914-18 War (Australian War Memorial, Campbell (AWM), AWM8). https://www.awm.gov.au/ Sources used |
More information 4
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Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/464204 |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/7540875 |
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=5b44d77f-fb8e-400a-8128-61b2629d3ecf |
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The AIF Project (UNSW Canberra) https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=233270 |