SQUIRES, Harry

Harry was born about 1888 in the Parish of Newington, at Hull in Yorkshire England where his father Charles was a train driver.  By 1911 Harry’s father had died. His mother, Mary, married again and the family lived at Royston, Cambridgeshire. Harry worked as a Farm Labourer, which he continued to do after his arrival in Australia.  At the age of twenty nine he enlisted at Inverell in December 1915, joining the district men who became known as the First Contingent of The Kurrajongs. 

Harry became a member of the 33rd Battalion which trained at Armidale and Rutherford prior to sailing from Australia in May 1916. After nine weeks at sea, they arrived in England where further training took place at Salisbury Plain until the Battalion was sent to France in November. During the Battle of Messines in June 1917 Harry was wounded in action and subsequently died as a result of a gunshot wound to the chest. He was buried at Pont D’Achelles Military Cemetery at Nieppe, France.

Private Harry Squires is remembered at Inverell where his name is inscribed on the Cenotaph and Honor Roll. He was one of the 215 men for whom a memorial tree was planted in Kurrajong Parade. As he was working for Harding Brothers at Oakwood before the War, his name is also recorded on the Oakwood Honor Roll.