Henry George Collins

Henry George Collins was born in 1893 in Kensington, an inner suburb of Melbourne, to Henry Hailey Collins and Eleanor Jane, nee Murray.

On 29 November 1914, Henry enlisted in the AIF at Holsworthy, New South Wales. He was given the Regimental Number 564 and was placed on strength with the 26th Reinforcements for the 6th Light Horse.

Upon enlistment, Henry was a single, 21-year-old wool classer living in Albury. He stood 175 centimetres tall and weighed 63 kilograms. His complexion was given as fair, his eyes as blue, and his hair as fair. Henry’s records show that he had the distinctive marks of a scar on his left wrist and three vaccination marks on his left arm. Henry’s religious denomination was given as the Church of England.

Henry embarked on 21 December 1914, on the HMAT A29 Suevic, sailing from Sydney, New South Wales. The trip would take him across the Great Australian Bight to Fremantle and on to Colombo, in Ceylon. On 22 January, 1915, the convoy arrived at Aden, where it took on coal and water. On 28 January, the convoy was found entering the Suez Canal, a journey which would take about two to three days before finally arriving at Port Said. The 6th Light Horse disembarked at Alexandria, arriving at their camp at Maadi on 3 February. Throughout February, Henry, along with his mates, would undergo a series of training exercises in all aspects of military life.

On 1 March, the Regiment received orders to be ready to embark at short notice. This proved to be a ‘furphy’ as it wasn’t until 16 May, 1915, that the Regiment left the camp at Maadi and embarked on HMAT Lutzow at Alexandria, bound for the Dardanelles. The ship anchored off ANZAC Cove at 9 pm on 19 May. The Regiment disembarked the following day at 3 pm under shrapnel and sniper fire. It was here that the Regiment suffered its first two casualties, with two men being wounded. Initially, the Regiment was attached to the 1st Infantry Brigade and underwent its first change of command as its Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Cox, was wounded by shrapnel fire and replaced by Major Fuller. Lieutenant Colonel Cox would rejoin the Regiment in early July. During its time on Gallipoli, the 6th Light Horse became responsible for a sector on the far right, or southern, section of the ANZAC line, and played a defensive role until it left the peninsula on 20 December. The image below shows the bivouac area of the 6th Light Horse while at Gallipoli. While Henry was on Gallipoli, he was promoted to temporary Corporal on 19 November, but would revert to Trooper early in the New Year as NCOs returned to the Regiment after recovering from illness or wounds.

After some time spent at Maadi, Henry, along with his unit, marched out to Serapeum. They would spend some time in the Hill 70 and Et Maler areas along the Canal Zone, and it was during this time that Henry was first promoted to Corporal, then to Lance Sergeant, and finally to full Sergeant on 1 July 1916.

During the engagements in the Et Maler area, Henry was severely wounded with gunshot wounds to the left foot and hand. Henry would pass from the 2nd Light Horse Field Ambulance to the 26th Casualty Clearing Station at Kantara to No. 1 Australian Stationary Hospital at Ismailia and finally the 3rd Australian Hospital at Cairo. Henry’s wounds were sufficiently severe for him to be returned to Australia for a period of three months and struck off strength. HMAT A11 Ascanius would take Henry back home, with him disembarking at Sydney on 2 October 1916.

On 20 June 1917, Henry stepped off HMAT A42 Boorara at Suez, once again joining the fight against the Turks and Germans. After being stationed at the Isolation Camp at Moascar for two days, he was initially taken on strength with the 2nd Light Horse Regiment before being transferred to his old unit, the 6th Light Horse, on 1 August. In early November, he was admitted to the 12th Light Horse Field Ambulance suffering from diarrhoea. This complaint would keep him in hospital until 29 November.

In 1918, Henry served with the 6th Light Horse Regiment, aside from a brief hospitalisation for gastrointestinal complaints. In early January, he was promoted to RQMS, although he would revert back to SQMS (Squadron Quartermaster Sergeant) on 15 July, 1918. As a QMS, Henry would be responsible for supplies and stores for either the Regiment (RQMS) or Squadron (SQMS).

On 9 July, 1919, Henry was granted leave to the United Kingdom for approximately two months. As part of the AIF's Repatriation Scheme, Henry was provided with non-military employment in the UK. He worked for Francis Willey Wool Merchants of Bradford as a wool classer. His personal report for this position states that he was given two months of practical training in the Warehouse, that the methods he was taught were the very latest, and that the knowledge he gained would prove most beneficial to him upon discharge from the AIF.

On 22 November 1919, Henry embarked on the HMAT A60 Aeneas at Suez, returning to Australia some weeks later. He was finally discharged from the AIF on 19 February 1920. For his service during the war, he was awarded the 1914/15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

Records indicate that Henry married Jean Mavis Enever in 1941 in Albury, New South Wales. Jean was born in 1910 and died in 1995. They had no known children.

From 1900 to 1951, Henry lived in a small house in Albury, NSW. He continued to live in Albury with his wife, Jean. Between 1951 and 1979, they lived in Pambula, NSW. Henry passed away in 1979, at the age of 86.