Harold Sydney Bushby

1898 - 1918  (19 years)

• Name	Harold Sydney Bushby
  Birth	18 Apr 1898	"The Warren," Roseby Street, Marrickville, NSW, Australia   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Military Service	Harold Sydney BUSHBY Regimental number: 4162 Place of birth: Sydney, New South Wales School: Public School, Sydney, New South Wales Religion: Congregational Occupation: Civil servant Address: 14 South Street, Fremantle, Western Australia Marital status: Single Age at embarkation: 18 Next of kin: Father, Mr W J Bushby, 14 South Street, Fremantle, Western Australia Enlistment date: 23 September 1915 Date of enlistment from Nominal Roll: 17 September 1915 Rank on enlistment: Private Unit name: 11th Battalion, 13th Reinforcement AWM Embarkation Roll number: 23/28/4 Embarkation details: Unit embarked from Fremantle, Western Australia, on board HMAT A30 Borda on 17 January 1916 Rank from Nominal Roll: Private Unit from Nominal Roll: 11th Battalion Fate: Killed in Action 26 January 1918 Age at death: 19.9 Age at death from cemetery records: 19 Place of burial: Messines Ridge British Cemetery (Plot I, Row A, Grave No. 41), Belgium Panel number, Roll of Honour, Australian War Memorial: 61 Miscellaneous information from cemetery records Parents: William and Sarah BUSHBY, 14 South Street, South Fremantle, Western Australia. Native of Marrickville, New South Wales. Family/military connections Cousin: 6236 Pte Arthur Harrison BUSHBY, 3rd Bn, killed in action, Ypres, Belgium, 20 September 1917. Other details: War service: Western Front Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal http://www.aif.adfa.edu.au:8080/showPerson?pid=41107
  Death	26 Jan 1918	Killed in Action, Western Front   [2, 3]
  Burial	Messines Ridge British Cemetery, Mesen, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium   [4]
  Notes	WORLD WAR I (AIF Project; Fremantle History Centre; CWGC): Private Harold Sydney Bushby, service no. 4162, 11th Battalion. Enlisted 23 Sep 1915 and sailed from Fremantle on HMAT Borda on 17 Jan 1916. He was killed in action on 26 Jan 1918, aged 19, when a mortar shell hit his dugout, and is buried at Messines Ridge British Cemetery, Belgium, grave I. A. 41. His record gives his parents as William and Sarah Bushby, 14 South Street, South Fremantle. His cousin Arthur Harrison Bushby was killed near Ypres four months earlier.
  Person ID	I513983579	Walsh - Wilson Family Tree
  Last Modified	27 Oct 2026

  
  

  Father	William James Bushby,   b. 22 Dec 1868, 4 Harrison Street, Barrow in Furness, Cumbria d. 06 Mar 1954, East Fremantle, Western Australia (Age 85 years)
  Mother	Sarah Jane Buhl,   b. 1872, Stanhope, West Maitland, New South Wales d. 12 Jun 1958, Victoria Park, Western Australia (Age 86 years)
  Marriage	19 Feb 1895	Elgin Street, West Maitland, New South Wales, Australia   [5, 6]
  Marriage Witnesses	19 Feb 1895	Elgin Street, West Maitland, New South Wales, Australia
  	Witnesses: Elizabeth Buhl, Job Fowles
  Photos » Slide Show		William James Bushby and Sarah Jane [Buhl] Bushby
  		William James and Sarah [Buhl] Bushby About 1943, in Western Australia. Written on the back of the photograph by Wilfred Robert Bushby, "This was taken in the corner of our back yard."
  		William James Bushby and Sarah [Buhl] Bushby
  Documents		Marriage Certificate of William James Bushby and Sarah Jane Buhl William James Bushby and Sarah Jane Buhl were married on 19 Feb 1895 on Elgin Street, West Maitland, New South Wales in accordance with the rites of the Wesleyan Church. William was age 26, and an engineer. Sarah Jane was 22 and in "private life." William's parents are shown as James Bushby and Martha Aitken. Sarah's mother is shown as Elizabeth Buhl (no details for her father).
  Family ID	F505778197	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Photos		Private Harold Sydney Bushby - AI-enhanced and colourised impression of his WWI portrait AI-ENHANCED IMAGE - NOT A PHOTOGRAPH. Made in October 2026 by Craig Walsh with ChatGPT from the grainy halftone portrait held by the City of Fremantle Local History Centre (see the original image on this page). It is meant to suggest what Harold probably looked like; the AI has filled in detail that the original does not contain, so the fine features, skin and colours are a best guess. Known errors: the cap badge, collar and buttons have been drawn as British flaming-grenade badges. As a private in the 11th Battalion, Australian Imperial Force, Harold would have worn the AIF Rising Sun badge and plain Commonwealth buttons. Original image courtesy of the City of Fremantle Local History Centre (https://history.fremantle.wa.gov.au/nodes/view/21055), credited with thanks.
  		Private Harold Sydney Bushby, 11th Battalion AIF - portrait about 1915-1918 (original) This is the historical image: a newspaper-style halftone portrait of Harold in uniform and peaked cap, as held by the City of Fremantle Local History Centre in its "Fremantle Soldiers, Sailors and Nurses of the Great War" collection. The grain comes from the printing screen, not from damage. Courtesy of the City of Fremantle Local History Centre (https://history.fremantle.wa.gov.au/nodes/view/21055), which also has a full biography of Harold. Shown on this family history site with thanks and credit to the Centre. See also the AI-enhanced version, which is an artist's impression based on this image.

  
  

  Documents		Wilfred Robert Bushby Birth Certificate - South Fremantle, Western Australia The birth certificate of Wilfred Robert Bushby shows that he was born on 23 March 1914 at 14 South Street, South Fremantle, Western Australia. His father was William James Bushby, age 45 [born c.1869], a carpenter, born in Barrow-in-Furness. His mother was Sarah Jane Buhl, age 41 [born c.1873], born in Stanhope, West Maitland, New South Wales. William and James were married 19 Feb 1895 in West Maitland. Their other children were William Job Stanley, age 18 [born c.1896], Harold Sydney, age 15 [born c.1899], Violet Alice May, age 9 [born c.1905], and Vera Lilian, age 5 [born c.1909].
  		Birth Certificate of Harold Sydney Bushby - 18 Apr 1898 The NSW birth certificate shows Harold Sydney Bushby born on 18 Apr 1898 at "The Warren," Roseby Street, Marrickville, NSW. [On Violet Alice Bushby's birth certificate, "The Warren" is on Thornley Street, Marrickville. Roseby and Thornley are parallel to one another.] Harold's father was William James Bushby, an engine driver in a butter factory, age 29, born in Barrow-in-Furness. Harold's mother is Sarah Jane Bull, age 25, from Stanhope, near Branxton. Harold was their second child: first child was William Job Stanley, age 2 years.

  
  

• Sources

  [S4900] New South Wales Registry of BDM, 18 Apr 1898, Birth Registration 1898/013544 (Reliability: 3). [S5200] AIF Project, (UNSW Canberra), Harold Sydney Bushby, no. 4162 (https://aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=41107), https://aif.adfa.edu.au. [S5205] Fremantle History Centre, (City of Fremantle), https://history.fremantle.wa.gov.au/nodes/view/21055, https://history.fremantle.wa.gov.au. [S5030] Commonwealth War Graves Commission, (http://www.cwgc.org), Casualty 482268, grave I. A. 41 (https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/482268/). [S4900] New South Wales Registry of BDM, Marriage Registration: 1895/001296 (Reliability: 3). [S4900] New South Wales Registry of BDM, 08 Oct 1904, Birth Registration 1904/033978 (Reliability: 0). Parents' marriage date shown as 20 Feb 1895 on Violet Alice May Bushby's birth certificate. Marriage certificate itself shows 19 Feb 1895.