Richard Allan Blencowe  [9176]

1890-1954

Father Nm: George Blencowe [9123] [9518] born 8.3.1859 Black Springs South Australia buried 3.4.1940 Leeton Methodist NSW Australia : Oldest known ancestor -Thomas Blencowe Northampton.

Mother Nm: Matilda Maud Nourse 1864 Hamilton S Australia died 21.6.1845 in Leeton,

Marriage Dts: 1917 Leicester and 1953

1. 1917 Marriage Age: 27 Marriage to Dorothy Mabel Ward Sept 1917 – Leicester, Leicestershire
2. 1953 to Alice Elizabeth Wiltshire in Brisbane

K comments:

WW2: Richard served in both World Wars amongst very few Blencowes who did. All son’s served in WW2, Maurice George died of wounds in New Guinea 1943, Harold served in the RAAF at Base Torpedo Units and Torpedo Maintenace Units, Allan Roy served with the 2/4th Infantry in the Middle East and New Guinea,  Noel served with the 2nd 105th Army Transport Division. Bruce served with the RAAF.

Spouse Comments: Dorothy Mabel Ward 1893-1963, Alice Elizabeth Wiltshire.

Children: Harold Blencowe (1918 – 1994), Allan Roy Blencowe (1920 – 1987), Maurice George Blencowe (1923 – 1943),  Noel Thomas Blencowe (1923–2013), Bruce Blencowe (1925 – 1998).

Birth 13 Dec 1890

Birth Place: Petersburg, Registration Place: Frome, South Australia Page No:200 Vol:475.

1915 A Divinity Student

2nd Battalion AIF

WW1

Blencowe Richard Allan, 1890, Petersburg, L/Cprl, 346819, Infantry Battalion Reinforcements, 19^th, 2^nd and 61^st Battalions AIF.

1915

• 11^th Oct. Enlisted and embarked from Sydney on 12^th Dec 1915 on HMAT Berrima for Egypt. Allan was part of the 8^th Reinforcement for the 19^th Bn. in Egypt, however, this changed and instead he was transferred to the 2^nd Bn.

  

1916

• 14^th Feb. Joined 2^nd Bn. C Coy. Tel-el-Kebir as a reinforcement. The battalion that had just come from Gallipoli and was much depleted.
• 22^nd Mar. Embarked from Alexandria for France, arrived in Marseilles France 28^th Mar 1916. On landing the Bn. proceeded north by railway to staging areas near Hazebrouck. The 2^nd Bn. Spent the next year in the area between St.Omer and Armentieres near the Belgium border.
• 1 -19^th Apr. At Fenescure just east of St Omer on the 10^th moved to Outersteen for 9 days then into the trenches near Sailly. ¹
• 20^th Apr. in the trenches and casualties almost immediately diary reports 4 killed and 7 wounded in the last week of April.
• 11^th May. Admitted to hospital with Malaria, discharged just 8 days later on 19^th May 1916.
• Jun. Fleurbaix. In the trenches for spells, billeted nearby. 
• 29^th Jun. Wounded in action receiving shell shrapnel in the back and right arm, most likely while in his billet. War Diary 2^nd Battalion late June 1916 includes day Allan is wounded
  • 28^th Jun. – Enemy shelled H 21 D all available men in fatigues day and night.
  • 29^th Jun. – Enemy artillery again active H 21 D . Several direct hits were obtained on C Coys Billets 4 OR’s (other ranks) wounded.
• 3^rd Jul. Transferred from field ambulance to 2^nd Canadian Stationary Hospital. Treport, France (Autreau in log).

  

• 4^th Jul. Embarked for England and on arrival admitted to Chatham Military Hospital then three days later transferred to the VAD Hospital Gravesend. He was discharged from the hospital over 2 months later on the 18^th of Sept 1916.

  

• 22^nd Oct. Joined 1^st Training Battalion and returned to France and taken on strength Australian Divisional Base Depot.
• 9^th Nov. Bernafay Camp. Rejoined 2^nd Battalion in the field.
• 11^th Nov. Bn. Moved by route march to Dernacourt, via Carnoy And Meaulte. On the 13^th marched on to Buire and into billets there.¹
• 17^th Nov. Transported by bus from Buire to Flesselles, stayed in billets there  until the end of Nov. Mostly training while at Flesselles.¹

  

• 1^st Dec. Marched to Vignacourt and then entrained for Ribemont .¹
• 5^th Dec. Appointed Lance Corporal.
• 6^th Dec. Route march to Melbourne Camp at Mametz.¹
• 15^th Dec. Sick laryngitis. Transported by ambulance 16.5 km to the 36^th Casualty Clearing Station at Heilly

  

• After an assessment, he was transferred 144 km (most likely by hospital train) to No 8 General Hospital Rouen, on the 20^th of the month returned to England to the 3^rd London General Hospital with Laryngitis. Discharged and takes a furlough in England.

1917

• 13^th Mar. transferred to the 61^st Bn. which was a newly raised battalion. The 61^st was disbanded in 1917 before it was to see any service in the War.
• 17^th Jun. Sick and sent to 16^th Field Ambulance which was based at Wareham, however, the 16^th Field Ambulance departed for France just after Allan arrived so he must have been in the care of others at the Hospital. Allan was diagnosed suffering from Erythenic Nodusum (Crohn’s disease a skin disorder).
• He stayed in England for the balance of 1917 as a Driver with the No.1 and No. 2 Command depots based in Sutton Veny and Weymouth. Allan married Dorothy Mabel Ward in Leicester in Sept. Quarter. Health continued to be a problem and he was also reclassified to C1 (not fit for duty) and so repatriated in early 1918.

1918

• 1^st Feb 1918 left England bound for Australia on the SS Balmoral Castle.
• 25^th May. Discharged from the Army as medically unfit. Disability – Bronchitis and Post-nasal catarrh.

 

Sources

As with all of Richard Allan Blencowe’s immediate family service history, Granddaughter Anne (Blencowe) Burton has been a key source of family history. In fact, she is the editor of the Blencowes Families Association and a leader in the organisation of the Blencowes family history and its preservation, Anne someone who I have depended on for many years as my strongest supporter for the  WW1 and WW2 Blencowe projects. My personal thanks for the information provided for this page and the pages of the descendants of Richard Allan.

1. AIF Records
2. Blencowes in WW2 Ancestry Tree
3. 2^nd Bn. War Diary.

Medals

Awarded the 1914-15 Star, British and Victory medals plus Silver War Badge

After the War

August 1918 Allan made an application under the NSW returned settlement act for a lot of land for Farming this was unsuccessful but indicates that NSW at least was looking to thank the soldiers for their efforts in the war.

13^th Feb 1919 wife Dorothy Mabel and son Harold arrived in Sydney on SS Miltiades.

1921

He was granted a Soldiers Settlers Block – Farm 1200 at Corbie Hill (Yanco) near Leeton after WW1 where he farmed pigs and grew fruit. The block was too small to be viable.

1925

The family had moved to Sydney where they ran a corner store in Enfield. Over the ensuing years, they moved to and from Leeton to Sydney a number of times. The family home in Leeton burnt down in about 1939/40, a new one was built on the same place in Leeton but Allan and Dorothy with the younger children moved to Kyeemagh in about 1940.

WW2

Allan served as a Corporal in the 3^rd Dist. Records Office, Melbourne.

Divorced 1945

Marriage 1953

He married Alice Elizabeth Wiltshire on 16 July 1953 in Brisbane

She died in 1963 in Queensland, Australia (Source: Queensland Register of Deaths, 1963/C1026.).

1954 Death Age 67

Death Place: Melbourne, Victoria, 1954 Registration Place: Victoria, Registration number: 14292 Estimated Birth Year: abt 1887.

 

GALLERY