Private 115 Herbert Dalby Waterworth

Census details:
At the time of the 1901 census, Herbert lived in Rainford with his uncle, Charles Davies, and family. On 25th September 1903, aged 15, he started working for the Railway at Rainford Village station as a Junior Porter, remaining there until transfer to St Helens in February 1910. By the 1911 census he was a Boarder at 3, Joseph Street, Sutton, the home of John and Alice Brown. The census shows him as a 23 years old Brakesman for the London and North Western Railway

Notes:
G.S.W. to head - 11th May 1915. Not found on CWGC. Herbert sailed from London 7 November 1912 on the Orontes bound for Sydney. He was aged 24 and his occupation is given as Clerk

[pic]imgs/sppics/H_D_Waterworth.jpg[/pic][caption]Adelaide Chronicle Saturday 9 February 1929.[/caption] Herbert Dalby Waterworth was born in St Helens on 13th March 1888, one of four sons of John and Martha Waterworth. John was a Life Insurance agent and the family lived in Lugsmore Lane. It is not known when he migrated to Australia, but on the 19th August 1914, aged 26, he attested for service with the Australian Imperial Force at Morphettville, South Australia, and was allocated service number 115 with 'B' Section of the 2rd Field Ambulance. He recorded that he was a native of St Helens, Lancashire and that his next of kin was his sister, Mrs Pennington, of Queen Street, Frewville. His trade was shown as 'Motorman'. Herbert sailed for Egypt on 20th October 1914. After this, he sailed for Gallipoli, arriving there on 7th March 1915. On 20th May 1915 in Alexandria, Egypt, he was reported to be suffering from a severe Gun Shot Wound (GSW) to the head. It appears that this occurred in the field on 10th May. He was invalided to England on 4th July. While in England, his medical report stated that he had suffered a Bullet Wound to the side of his head. This had led to him losing his voice for a short period of time and also suffer from weakness to the right arm and leg. An operation to remove the bullet was performed on board the Hospital Ship. His sister, Mrs Pennington, received a letter on 28th August 1915 from the Officer in Charge of Base Recordds, which stated, "I am directed to advise you that a despatch has been received from Chaplain Green in which he reports under date 16/07/15, having visited the hospital in which your brother, No 115 Private H D Waterworth is located and states that he is doing well." On 25th October 1915, another medical assessment took place at the Base Depot in Weymouth . This reported Herbert to be suffering from partial paralysis to the right arm and legs, and also that he had suffered from several epileptic fits since the injury. The recommendation was that he be discharged as permanently unfit. On 7th November 1915, he returned to Australia from Portland aboard the HT "Runic". His condition did not change on the journey, though he was reported to be suffering from giddiness. On arrival in Australia on 18th December 1915, it was reported, "He has had a number of epileptic seizures since his injury. There is still some paralysis to the right arm. He is eating and sleeping badly and has lost much weight". The board could not say of his disability was permanent though they recorded that it would exclude him from "most employment" and that it should be deemed to be a "total" disability. It is recorded on his service papers as "Bullet wound to left side of head, Patient lost voice for a short time, weakness in right arm and leg, operation performed on hospital ship, Bullet removed. Had several fits". He was discharged from the army on 11th July 1916. Living with his sister at Queen Street, Frewville, he was granted a pension of �3 per fortnight from 12th July 1916. Herbert died on 5th February 1929 At Keswick. He was buried in the AIF Cemetery , West Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia. Herbert was entitled to the 1914/1915 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal. [pic]imgs/WW1_misc/HDWaterworthAEF.jpg[/pic][caption]The St Helens Reporter - Courtesy Ste M[/caption] [pic]imgs/WW1_headstones/HerbertDalbyWaterworth.jpg[/pic][caption]The headstone of Private Herbert Dalby Waterworth at AIF Cemetery, West Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia. (Photograph courtesy of Chris Henschke.)[/caption]