4530 Sapper Richard BOYCE
3rd Tunnelling Company
Richard Best Boyce was born at Smeaton, Victoria in 1875, the son of Ferguson and Mary (nee Best) Boyce. His mother was Mary Boyce who was living at 187 Victoria Street, Ballarat in March 1915. He studied Engine Driving at the Ballarat School of Mines in 1895 and 1896.
Richard Best Boyce was appointed a Constable in the Victorian Police Force in the week ending 18 January 1897. He resigned from the Police Force in the week ending 12 December 1898 from the North-Western District.
He married Mary Helen Ballinger in 1898 in Victoria. A son, Albert John Boyce, was born in 1899 at Deans Marsh, Victoria.
Mary Ellen Ballinger married William James RUSS in 1905 in Victoria.
Boyce enlisted into the AIF twice. The first time took place at York, Western Australia on 1 March 1915 where he was given the number '16'. At that time he described himself as a 39 year old ganger with 8 years experience in the Ballarat Militia. He named his mother Mary Boyce of 187 Victoria Street, Ballarat as his Next-of-Kin. He was struck off strength on 5 May 1915 as a Deserter. Boyce left Victoria, probably around March 1915, to work on the Western Australia goldfield.
At the time of his second enlistment Boyce declared he was a single 43 year old miner of Laverton, Western Australia, whose next of kin was John Boyce of the Newport Workshops, Melbourne.
Richard Boyce (4530) enlisted in the AIF on 28 December 1915 at Laverton, Western Australia. He was appointed to the Miners Stand on 1 March and transferred to No.6 Tunnelling Company on 10 March 1916.
He embarked at Fremantle on 1 June 1916 on board the HMAT A69 Warilda.
The 7713 ton transport departed Sydney, NSW on May 22, 1916 and collected in Melbourne, Victoria the No.5 Company recruited from Victoria, South Australia & Tasmania consisting of a Headquarters and 2 Sections (8 officers & 173 men) (3 M.D.). 1 Section from Tasmania (3 officers & 76 O.Rs); also 1st Reinforcements for No 5 Company (17 men from Vic. & 8 men Tas.) The ship departed on May 25, 1916 for Adelaide, S.A. to collect one Section of 3 officers & 76 O.Rs with 1st Reinforcements of 8 O.Rs.
Docking at Fremantle, W.A. on June 1, 1916 No.6 Company recruited from W.A. of 14 officers and 325 O.Rs along with 1st Reinforcements of 1 Officer & 32 O.Rs embarked and Warilda departed the same day for the European theatre.
Durban, South Africa was reached on June 16, 1916 and Cape Town on June 21, 1916 while St Vincent completed the African ports of call on July 7, 1916.
Discipline was fairly good except at intermediate ports where soldiers going Absent Without Leave caused concern.
The fifty-eight day voyage experienced remarkably pleasant weather and terminated at Plymouth, England on July 18, 1916. Four, Five and Six Companies comprising of 1064 officers and other ranks were detrained to Amesbury and Tidworth to begin training for the front.
He proceeded overseas to France on 28 August 1916 and marched in to the 2nd Australian Divisional Base Depot (2ADBD) on 30 August. On 12 October he was transferred to the 1st Anzac Reinforcement Camp and on 18 October to the 1st Anzac Entrenching Battalion.
The 1st Anzac Entrenching Battalion which was an advanced section of the Base Depot. Formed at La Motte, France on June 6, 1916 with Captain N. Macrae being seconded from the Mining Corps as Adjutant and Quartermaster, the Battalion had an initial strength of 21 Officers and 1003 Other Ranks, mainly Infantry. The Battalion organised works near the lines and through duties would accustom the reinforcements to war conditions before being assigned to a company in the field.
For a time, all infantry reinforcements were drawn from this unit. Heavy losses at Pozieres in July through September 1916 caused all infantry to be directly absorbed into their fighting units.
The Battalion continued to be a transit unit for tunnelling reinforcements and in October 1916 there were 9 officers and 203 men in the Battalion which now served as a tunnelling company, working with the 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company at St Eloi, The Bluff and the Ravine (near Ypres). On 5 November 1917 the 1st Anzac Entrenching Battalion was abolished.
On 26 October 1916 he was attached to the 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company. On 3 December 1916 he was taken on strength to the 3rd Tunnelling Company.
On 27 January 1919 he marched out of 3ATC for demobilisation.
Richard was a member of 3ATC from December 1916 until his demobilisation in 1919. 3ATC first saw action at Boars Head in the lead up the Fromelles diversion ‘stunt’ of July 1916. The Company was allocated to the First Army and were engaged variously at Laventie-Fauquissart, Givenchy, Loos, Lens, Double Crassiers and Vermelles and other places on the Western Front.
On 27 November 1916 at the ‘Black Watch Sap’, Hill 70, an enemy camouflet (or a premature explosion, depending on different accounts) killed 20 members of the company. The next day 2 more members were killed in the same area by an enemy camouflet. The 22 members of 3ATC were buried in 14 adjacent graves at the Hersin Communal Cemetery Extension.
The Company’s major effort was at Hill 70 where they constructed the extensive Hythe Tunnel system. The company was also heavily involved in road and bridge construction and the locating and clearing of enemy mines and booby traps. This continued for the company for some months after the Armistice.
Sapper Richard Boyce was discharged from the AIF on 12 February 1919, after being demobilised in London where he intended to live in Sutherland Street, Pimlico. In 1931 Richard Boyce was living at Northam, Western Australia.
At the age of 66 Richard Boyce died towards the end of 1941. He was buried in the Kalgoorlie Cemetery on 2 December 1941 and lies in an unmarked grave at plot 9376.
Funeral Notices appearing in the Kalgoorlie Miner on Tuesday 2 December 1941:
Legacy
Tree 2979 in the Ballarat Avenue of Honour was planted for Richard Boyce of the Australian Mining Corps. The tree is an Elm, and was planted on 17 August 1918 by Miss D. Storey.
His son also served:
1664 Private Albert John Boyce enlisted 21 February 1916, NOK mother Mary Russ. He embarked on 4 April 1916 on Euripides. Taken on strength of the 59th Battalion in June 1916, he was reported missing at Fromelles on 19 July 1916.
Court of Enquiry, held in the field, 29 August 1917, pronounced fate as 'Killed in Action, 19 July 1916'.
Note on B.103, 'presumed buried in No Man's Land approx at 5J9043 to 5K0251 Sheet Hazebrouck 5a'.
Statement, Red Cross File No 481105: 1790 Corporal J. WOOD, C Company, 59th Bn,, 13 October 1916: 'I was with him in the charge at Fleurbaix on the night of 19th July. We were going along when he was shot and went down, apparently killed. This was about 50 or 60 yards out from our own parapet where I saw him fall. We did not hold the [ground] on which he fell. I do not know if his body was got in or not.'
Albert John Boyce has no known grave and is commemorated at VC Corner Australian Cemetery and Memorial, Fromelles.
Donna Baldey 2016 / 2017
www.tunnellers.net
with the assistance of Yvon Davis; Moya Sharp and Tim Cudini
based with permission on article at: http://www.miningmudmedals.org/Richard_B._Boyce