Private Arthur Rathbone 

11th Machine Gun Company 

 

 

 

 

Service Number:                   126 

Place of Enlistment:              Brisbane 

Age of Enlistment:                18 Years 

Date of Enlistment:               7th of January 1916 

Embarked:                             12th of July 1916 

Transport Ship:                     A30 HMAT Borda 

Medals Awarded:                  British War Medal, Victory Medal 

Place of Death:                      Wounded in Action, France 3rd of July 1917 

                                                Wounded in Action, Belgium 29th of September 1917 

                                                Killed In Action, Battle of Passendale, Belgium 14th of October 1917 

Resting Place:                       Commemorated Menin Gate Memorial Ypres Panel 31 Belgium 

Unit Badge:                            11th Machine Gun Company AIF 

 

 Additional Information:  

Private Rathbone was killed supporting an infantry advance on the 14th of October. It is worth noting that Private Rathbone had been injured in a grenade attack two weeks earlier but had remained on the line. 11th Machine Gun Company lost 16 men killed, 15 injured and 12 gassed in this 4-day operation. 

The battle of Passendale was the final action in the British Commonwealth 1917 Ypres offensive and was marked by heavy rain which turned the shell churned battlefield into a muddy quagmire. Many veterans considered it the worst battle of the entire First World War.