Military History

Selected to attend Duntroon Military College.
Embarked Sydney per HMAT ‘Wiltshire’ A18 for UK 22.8.1916.
Roll Rank Private.
Roll Unit 14th Reinforcement, 20th Battalion.
Bennett disembarked with the 14th Reinforcement, 20th Battalion at Plymouth 13.10.1916. He was admitted sick to hospital at Devonport. On discharge from hospital, he was transferred to the No.1 Command Depot, at Perham Downs. Bennett then transferred to the 5th Training Battalion. He was placed On Command for Instruction at Trinity College Cambridge, 14.12.1916. He gained his Commission at TCC. On completion of his training he went to Tidworth Base. Bennett proceeded overseas to France. He was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant 3.4.1917 and taken on Strength with 19th Cadet Battalion 2.5.1917.  He was listed on the  Australian Imperial Force List to be promoted to Lieutenant 26.9.1917.
Bennett was reported KIA by a shell fragment that struck his heart at whilst fighting at Passchendaele 9.10.1916. He was buried near a sunken road, 200 yards from the Roulers Railway, ½ mile in front of Zonnebeke, within the Ypres Line. His steel helmet was placed on his grave but his body was apparently not located later. He has no known grave.
He is commemorated at the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, West Vlaanderen, Flanders, Belgium.
Final Rank Lieutenant, 19th Battalion Infantry.
Medical Condition Deceased, KIA.
Awards and Medals British War Medal, Victory Medal.
Notes Francis was known as Reg to his family and friends.  He was the Secretary of Benson Bros. in Sydney and had previously worked at Millars Timber Coy.Ltd and  Messrs Smith and Timms. (Sydney Morning Herald 27.10.1917 p18) He was the son of the late Headmaster of Guildford Grammar School and Kings School, Parramatta.(Francis Bennett). His  father died under tragic circumstances and his mother married the next Head Master of Guildford School after her husband's death. Bennett's step father Gillespie, also tragically died from Pneumonia, leaving his mother a widower for the seond time with young children.  She moved to Rosebay NSW. Bennett's sister Enid Bennett became a famous Hollywood film star.(Cumberland Argus Fruit Growers Advocate 3.11.1917 p10)
Photos  Lieut. Francis Reginald Bennett. Photographer unknown, photograph reproduced with permission of C. Bennett 
              20th Bn. Resting on duckboards at the Railway Dugout near San Souci en route to Zonnebeke.10.1917. Photographer J.H. Hurley. Photograph source AWM E00838
              Zonnebeke, First Battle of Passchendaele. Photographer unknown, photographer sourced AWM E01200
              Menin Gate War Memorial 1938. Photograph secured by Captain James Murphy of the British War Graves Commission. Photograph source AWM H16916
              Lieut. Francis Reginald Bennett. Photographer unknown, photograph reproduced with permission of C. Bennett
              Lieut. F. R. Bennett. Photograph source AWM 08624.010  

Information Source
AWM 08624.010. Lieut. Francis Reginald Bennett. Photographer unknown, photograph sourced from the Pictorial Collection of the Australian War Memorial
AWM E00838. 20th Bn. Resting on duckboards at the Railway Dugout near San Souci en route to Zonnebeke.10.1917. Photographer J.H. Hurley. Photograph sourced from the Pictorial Collection of the Australian War Memorial
AWM E01200. Zonnebeke, First Battle of Passchendaele. Photographer unknown, photographer sourced  from the Pictorial Collection of the Australian War Memorial
AWM H16916. Menin Gate War Memorial 1938. Photograph secured by Captain James Murphy of the British War Graves Commission. Photograph sourced from the Pictorial Collection of the Australian War Memorial
Australian War Memorial Embarkation Roll- Francis Reginald Bennett
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour- Francis Reginald Bennett).
Bennett C. Studio photograph and portrait of Lieut. F.R. Bennett, sourced and reproduced with permission of C. Bennett
Cumberland Argus Fruit growers Advocate
Guildford Grammar School Honour Roll
Guildford Grammar School War Memorial
NAA: B2455, Bennett F R 5305
Sydney Morning Herald


20 Newcastle Street, Rosebay, NSW.

Associated Images