Holtham, Victor Joseph
1294 Gunner Victor Joseph Holtham - 2nd Siege Battery AIF
Victor Joseph Holtham was born in Hindmarsh South Australia on the 9th August 1895 to Albert and Hannah Holtham, being one of six siblings born into the family.
The family moved to WA in the 1900's and Albert was employed by WA Government Railways.
The family initially lived at Victoria Ave North Fremantle and Victor was employed as a Clerk. The family then moved to 5 Bayly Street North Fremantle. (Houses later destroyed by Fremantle ports in land resumption) Victor had also been serving with the 11th Australian Garrison Artillery at the Fremantle Artillery Barracks and Fort Forrest.
On the 19th April 1916 Victor enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force. He was found to be fit for enlistment, with the medical examiner recording his physical attributes as;
Height - 5 feet 9 inches tall;
Weight - 151lbs;
Chest Measurement - 32-35 inches;
Complexion - Fresh;
Eyes - Blue;
Hair - Dark Brown.
Victor was initially sent to Belmont Camp and was assigned to the training depot. After a month in the training camp Victor was assigned to the 22nd Reinforcements to the 11th battalion AIF. He trained with this group from the 21st June 1916 to the 6th September 1916. He was then discharged as services no longer required, and it appears he was still required for home service.
The reason was not officially stated but Victor returned to the 11th Australian Garrison Artillery at Fremantle. The Gunner of the 11th AGA had replaced the permanent artillerymen who had been manning the posts at Fort Forrest and Arthur Head but had departed for France in 1915.
It was not until the 20th December 1917 that Victor was able to enlist for service overseas and he was assigned to the Heavy Artillery Reinforcements. He was then sent over to Victoria to complete his training. In January 1918 Victor was promoted to the rank of Bombardier.
On the 28th February 1918 Victor and his reinforcement group departed from Port Melbourne aboard the transport ship Nestor and set sail for England. After the long sea journey they disembarked at Liverpool on the 20th April 1918. Victor and his group were then disembarked and set to the Royal British Artillery Camp at Heytesbury.
He was there for training for the next few months and was then sent to Signal School, which necessitated a longer stay in England. He was still in England when the Armistice was declared on the 11th November 1918. Victor only proceeded across to France on the 28th January 1919. He spent the next three months with the 2nd Siege Battery in France but as the war was over this involved routine work in keeping the guns in working order and other general training.
On the 26th May 1919 Victor returned to England and was sent to No.2 Group Camp at Sutton Veny. He would remain here while waiting to be assigned a berth on a troopship home. He had several weeks to wait as it was not until the 12th July 1919 that he boarded the ship City of Exeter and returned to Australia, disembarking in Fremantle on the 16th August 1919.
Victor was discharged from the AIF on the 9th September 1919.
After being discharged, Victor returned home to North Fremantle and resumed his work as a Clerk while also continuing to serve with the Garrison Artillery.
Victor was married on 18th October 1923 to Dulcie Slee at St Alban's Church Perth and they then moved to Tambellup where he also found work as a Clerk. They would have three children, with John, Tony and Robin.
Victor also joined the local Tambellup football club as well as the cricket team. Both Victor and Dulcie also played golf and tennis for the local teams as well as participating in the Swimming carnivals. Victor also joined the Tambellup branch of the Returned Services League.
Victor was soon the Manager of the Tambellup Farm Coop Company, a position he held till the 1940's. He was also heavily involved with the Tambellup Pastoral and Agricultural Society.
Both his parents died in Fremantle within a few hours of each other in 1935.
In the late 1940's Victor left Tambellup and returned to live in Perth, setting up residence in Mt Lawley.
Victor died on the 14th July 1954 aged 59. He was cremated at Karrakatta Cemetery.