Victory Medal : Private H Sturgeon, 14 Battalion, AIF

Places
Accession Number REL42120.002
Collection type Heraldry
Object type Medal
Physical description Bronze
Maker Unknown
Place made United Kingdom: England
Date made c 1920
Conflict First World War, 1914-1918
Description

Victory Medal. Impressed around edge with recipient's details.

History / Summary

Victory Medal issued to 5470 Private Henry Sturgeon, a 28 year old labourer from Geelong, Victoria, who had already served in the militia with the Light Horse when he enlisted on 11 February 1916. After initial training, Sturgeon was assigned to the 17th Reinforcements for 14 Battalion and embarked for overseas service aboard HMAT Euripides from Melbourne on 4 April 1916.

Arriving in Serapeum, Egypt on 27 May 1916, Sturgeon joined 14 Battalion the following week and then embarked with his battalion for France from Alexandria, disembarking at Marseilles on 8 June. Training commenced at Bailleul and Fort Rompu, near Armentieres in northern France. On 15 June the Battalion War Diary records that 'steel helmets and respirators issued to all ranks'. By 28 June the battalion had moved into the lines at Bois Grenier, undertaking trench raids and tasting the effects of heavy artillery bombardments and German raids.

It was gradually relieved over the 10/11 July and returned to its previous billets at Bailleul, before marching on 13 July to Domart, via Candas which placed the battalion in the Somme Department. It was described as 'one of the most exhausting marches the battalion ever had.' A week before that relief, according to Private Sturgeon in a statement made to the Repatriation Commission in 1936, 'I was blown up in Armentieres and was placed on light duties in the reserve trenches on account of my having sustained an injury to the muscles of my back.... for a period of 7 days.'

On 16 July, 14 Battalion marched to Naours to billets where they remained for 9 days, training and route marching. On 21 July 1916, the battalion was conducting assault practice 'by companies then as a battalion' when, according to Sturgeon's medical report, 'whilst advancing on the German trenches he attempted to jump over a shell hole but landed on the edge. The ground gave way under him and his right leg doubled up sustaining a simple fracture of both bones'. The fracture 'to both fibula and tibia' was sufficient to incapacitate him for at least six months and the decision was taken to discharge Sturgeon from service with a permanent disability. He was returned to Australia aboard the New Zealand hospital ship Marama on 31 August 1916 and was discharged on 18 December 1916. Henry Sturgeon died on 28 May 1937 at Geelong Hospital.