Harry Woodman Nugent

Harry was born in Berringama, Victoria, on 11 May 1896 to Thomas and Lucy (nee Wheeler) Nugent.  He would be one of nine children.

Harry enlisted on the same day as his brother, Frederic. His service number was one more than Frederic’s, and both brothers would be put on strength in the same unit, the 6th Reinforcements of the 13th Light Horse Regiment.

Upon enlistment, Harry was a 19-year-old farmer from Berringama, Victoria. He stood 5 feet 9 ¾ inches tall (177 cm) and weighed 154 lbs (72kg). His complexion was described as fresh, his eyes as blue, and his hair as brown. Harry’s records show that he had vaccination marks on his left arm and tears on the base of his thumb across the four fingers on his left hand. Harry’s religious denomination was given as Church of England. 

On 27 October 1915, Harry embarked with his brother on HMAT A38 Ulysses and sailed from Melbourne, Victoria. The trip would take him across the Great Australian Bight to Fremantle, on to Colombo, in Ceylon, before finally disembarking at Suez, at the southern end of the Suez Canal. 

It wasn’t long before Harry found himself being admitted to the 1st Australian General Hospital, as he was sick. Exactly what he was sick with is not recorded in his files. He was discharged to duty on 13 January and, two months later, was taken on strength of the 4th Division Cavalry at Tel-el-Kebir.

Five days later, Harry was admitted to the 11th Casualty Clearing Station at Moascar with knee trouble. A four-day stay at the 1st Australian Stationary Hospital enabled him to rest and fix his knee problem enough for him to be able to embark on the SS Kingstonian at Alexandria. On 10 June, 1916, Harry disembarked at Marseilles in the south of France.

One month later, he was taken on strength with the 1st Anzac Army Corps, 13th Light Horse Regiment. Throughout his two years in France and the Western Front, Harry had three periods of leave in England. After his first stint of leave, he was initially admitted to the 3rd Australian General Hospital in Abbeville, suffering from ‘soft chancre’, a lesion typical of infection with the bacterium that causes syphilis. He then proceeded to the 39th General Hospital in Havre and was discharged after 57 days.

From May to September, Harry was with his unit on the Western Front. During this period, the main tasks of the 13th Light Horse included traffic control, POW (Prisoner of War) escort, Divisional dispatch riders and advanced patrolling before, during and after offensives.  

During the last few months of 1918, Harry spent two weeks on leave in England and the rest of the time with his unit. At the time of the Armistice on 11 November, Harry and the 13th were on patrol in the Mont St Quentin area, moving between the villages of Bray and Levergies.

The new year brought the prospect of returning home to Australia. However, due to the vast numbers of men returning home and a lack of transport, the process was slow. The AIF set up education units to enable the men to learn new skills that they would need on returning home to Australia. Harry also managed to obtain a further stint of leave, which he spent back in England. Unfortunately, he contracted influenza and was admitted to the 2nd Scottish General Hospital in Edinburgh. Fortunately for him, his case was not lethal. Late in January of 1919, he was transferred to the 3rd Auxiliary Hospital at Dartford, where he was discharged to the No. 1 Convalescent Depot on 28 February. Harry had his leave extended to 7 March, after which he marched into the No. 2 Convalescent Depot at Weymouth, eventually embarking on HMAT A9 Shropshire and returning home to Australia on 16 May. On 7 July, Harry was discharged from the AIF at Melbourne, declared medically unfit, although the nature of the disability was not stated.

 After returning to Australia, Harry met Myrtle Leaford Swindells, and they married in 1920. They would have three children during their marriage. 

When war came upon Australia once more, Harry enlisted in the CMF (Citizens Military Forces) and became Sapper Harry Nugent, V147639 of the 13th Maintenance Platoon of the Royal Australian Engineers.

Harry passed away on 16 November 1945 at Caulfield Repatriation Hospital, Victoria, at the age of 49.