Outdoor portrait of, from left, Captain (Capt) William Lloyd Hindmarsh, Australian Army ...

Outdoor portrait of, from left, Captain (Capt) William Lloyd Hindmarsh, Australian Army Veterinary Corps (AAVC), Capt James Walter Sexton, Artillery Training Depot and Lieutenant (Lt) Frank Reginald Watts, Australian Machine Gun Training Depot. Capt Hindmarsh embarked from Sydney on 18 November 1916 aboard HMAT Persic (A34) for Egypt. His unit relocated to the Western Front, France, during May 1916 and in the following month he was attached to 1st Field Artillery Brigade (1 FAB) as the Veterinary Officer. Captain Hindmarsh was wounded in action near Bapaume, France on 1 December 1916 and was evacuated to England for treatment and recuperation in the Perham Downs – Larkhill area. He returned to France during late April 1917 and apart from a three month attachment to 11 FAB, served for the remainder of the war with the Australian Veterinary Hospital, Calais. Following the war Capt Hindmarsh went on approved study leave in veterinary science in England before returning to Australia for discharge in late August 1920. Lt Watts, an engine driver from Murwillumbah, New South Wales, enlisted as 812 Private Watts in the 15th Battalion and embarked from Melbourne on 22 December 1914 aboard HMAT Ceramic (A40) for Egypt. His battalion landed at Gallipoli where he served throughout the campaign with a promotion to Sergeant (Sgt) in early October 1915. After the battalion was withdrawn to Egypt, Sgt Watts was transferred to the 4th Machine Gun Company where he was promoted to Company Sergeant Major and then to Second Lieutenant (2nd Lt). His unit relocated to the Western Front, France in early June 1916 and three months later he was promoted to Lieutenant (Lt). Lt Watts was posted to England in late December 1916 to form a new machine gun company before returning to the Western Front in mid-November 1917 when he joined the 24th Machine Gun Company (later 4th Machine Gun Battalion). He was awarded a Mention in Despatches on 7 April 1918. Lt Watts was wounded in action on 8 August 1918 and was evacuated to England for treatment and recuperation before rejoining his unit on 10 October 1918 and promotion to Captain two weeks later. Capt Watts returned to Australia in April 1919 and was discharged on 30 June 1919. Capt Sexton, a professional soldier in the Imperial Forces since September 1898, embarked as 174 Battalion Sergeant Major (BSM) with the 1st Field Artillery Brigade (1 FAB) on 18 October 1914 from Sydney aboard HMAT Argyllshire (A8) for Egypt. The battalion landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. In mid-August 1915 BSM Sexton was commissioned and promoted to 2nd Lt and later that month was transferred to the 2nd Field Artillery Brigade (2 FAB). 2nd Lt Sexton was wounded in action on 29 November 1915 and was evacuated to Cairo for treatment and recuperation. While in Cairo he was promoted to Lieutenant (Lt). When his wounds became septic he was evacuated to Australia in April 1916 for further treatment. After recovering from his wounds Lt Sexton was posted to B Howitzer Battery in late July 1916. In early September 1916 he was promoted to Captain (Capt) and later that month embarked with 117th Howitzer Battery aboard HMAT Aeneas (A60) for Plymouth, England. Capt Sexton spent twelve months with the Artillery Training Depot at Larkhill, apparently where these three officers met. Capt Sexton proceeded to the Western Front where he joined 2 FAB near Ypres on 25 November 1917. In May 1918 Capt Sexton was transferred to 1 FAB and promoted to Major (Maj). Maj Sexton was wounded in action near Foucaucourt on 28 August 1918 and was evacuated to Rouen where he died of these wounds on 13 September 1918. He was aged 39 years.