Bruce, Henry Robert

2059 Corporal Henry Robert Bruce - Australian Flying Corps

Henry Robert Bruce was born in Stepney Middlesex England on the 21st December 1872 to George and Ann Bruce. He was one of six siblings born into the family.

In 1890 he travelled out to Australia and took up residence in Victoria. In 1891 he married Elizabeth Margaret Cherry and they would have five children, Alfred (1892), Henry (1894), Elizabeth (1895), William (1897) and Charles (1900).

The family had been living as 21 Gold Street South Fremantle (later renumbered to 4 Gold St) and Henry was working as a Horse Driver.

On the 10th April 1916 Henry enlisted into the AIF in Fremantle. On his enlistment he stated that he had five years of experience in the Mounted Rifles and also that he was a Widower however it appears that he was separated/divorced.

The medical examiner passed Henry as fit for service and recorded his physical attributes as;

Height - 5 feet 6 & 1/2 inches tall;

Weight - 135lbs;

Chest Measurement - 32-34 inches;

Complexion - Fresh;

Eyes - Grey;

Hair - Dark.

Upon his successful enlistment Henry was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was initially assigned to No.66 Training Depot. He was taken through the basics of infantry training at this depot. On the 20th June 1916 he was then transferred into the 3rd Reinforcements to the 44th Battalion AIF.

He had a few more months training with this group in WA and then on the 10th October 1916 entrained for Fremantle Harbour where his reinforcement group boarded the transport ship HMAT Suffolk. The ship then set sail for England, reaching Plymouth on the 2nd December 1916.

Henry and his group were then disembarked and sent to the 11th Training Battalion on the Salisbury Plains. He only had a few weeks in England before being sent to France on the 20th December 1916. Henry was then sent to the 3rd Australian Division Base Depot Camp at Etaples. He was taken on strength of the 44th Battalion on the 26th January 1917.

The 44th Battalion were then situated near Armentieres in Northern France. 

A few days after his arrival Henry was evacuated sick with a neoplasm of his tongue. He was sent to hospital in Boulogne and after a few days was shipped to England where he was admitted to Norfolk War Hospital.

On the 29th March 1917 Henry was sent to the 1st Australian Dermatological Hospital at Bulford. On the 21st April 1917 he was discharged from Hospital and then sent to No.1 Command Depot Camp at Perham Downs and he remained here through to the 27th July 1917 when he was transferred to No.2 Command Depot Camp Weymouth.

In September 1917 Henry was transferred for duty to the Australian Flying Corps. He was attached to the 30th Training Squadron of the Australian Flying Corps. This squadron trained pilots and observers in preparation for their service on the Western Front. He had the next few months of duty here. The Squadron was based at Tern Hill England during this time.

The Squadron was then renamed to the 6th Training Squadron AFC. On the 12th January 1918 Henry was transferred to the 1st Wing HQ of the AFC at Cirencester in Gloucestershire.

Henry remained with 1st Wing HQ of the Australian Flying Corps in England for the remainder of 1918, during which time he was appointed to the rank of Corporal.

On the 26th April 1919 in Gloucestershire he married Emily Townsend and they would go on to have two children, Emily in 1922 and Mary in 1927.

On the 6th May 1919 Henry boarded the transport ship Kaiser-i-Hind and set sail for Australia. It is unclear if his new wife joined him or sailed for Australia on a ship later in 1919.

Henry returned home to Fremantle on the 9th June 1919. He was discharged from the AIF on the 17th July 1919.

After their return home to Fremantle Henry found employment as a Warehouseman and they took up residence at 146 Hubble Street East Fremantle. This property was later renumbered to 82 Hubble Street.

Henry joined the local East Fremantle branch of the Returned Soldiers and Sailors league.

Henry died in East Fremantle on the 24th July 1928 aged 60. He was buried at Fremantle Cemetery plot Church of Christ MON GG 0050.