Studio portrait of 2171 Private (Pte) Ashleigh Robert Verdon, 34th Battalion, of Singleton, NSW. ...

Studio portrait of 2171 Private (Pte) Ashleigh Robert Verdon, 34th Battalion, of Singleton, NSW. A tailor prior to enlisting in April 1916, Pte Verdon embarked from Sydney with the 3rd Reinforcements on board HMAT Anchises (A68) on 24 August 1916. After further training in England he arrived in France for service on the Western Front on 21 December 1916. On 1 October 1917, Pte Verdon, a stretcher bearer, was wounded in action by a shell at Zonnebeke, Belgium. He died in the early afternoon at the 17th Casualty Clearing Station. For the work he did that day, Pte Verdon was recommended, by his lieutenant, for the Military Medal but it was not awarded. He was 27 years of age.