The Armour Boys

James and Martha Armour nee Maloney of Hallam Street, Ellendale, Port Pirie had three sons who all volunteered for the Great War.

Walter James Armour of the 50^th Battalion was killed in action in France at Mouquet Farm on the 16^th August 1916 and is commemorated on the Port Pirie World War 1 Gates. He has no known grave and is “Known Unto God”.

Private Walter James Armour 

George Frederick Armour of the 12^th Battalion returned to Port Pirie a Military Medallist. He served at Gallipoli, before being wounded and then gassed in France.

Roy Douglas Armour of the 10^th Battalion also served at Gallipoli, where he was wounded as he alighted from the landing boat. He was wounded a further two times in France before returning to Australia and lived to 87 years of age.

Roy writes to his parents below...

Hospital, May 1^st, 1915.

Dear Mother and Father,

This leaves me doing real well. I was in the landing party on the 25th of April and was slightly wounded in the left foot. The wound is healed up now and I expect to leave hospital soon and am anxious to have another go at the Turks. We left Lemnos on the 24th (it is about 3 or 4 hours' run from the Dardanelles). After stopping at Tenedos got into destroyers and then made our final dash for the landing place. 

We arrived there (at about 4 o'clock on the morning of the 25th) about 200 yards from the waters' edge. We then got into the small boats and rowed ashore under a heavy fire from the Turks, who were waiting for us on a hill a few yards inshore, and I can tell you they did pour the bullets down on us. They looked like a heavy shower of rain on the water all round us. But owing to the bad light, and them being bad shots, they did not manage to do a great deal of damage. 

All the same I will never forget those few moments as long as I live it was hotter than hell. At last our boat touched the shore and we all hopped out as quickly as we could. Just as I was about to take the leap I got it in the foot. I scrambled to the foot of the hill and got under a bit of cover with the other chaps who were wounded. Then our lads fixed their bayonets and made a charge which drove the Turks back as fast as they could run. When the sun rose and things were getting a little bit lighter they started to put the shrapnel into us, but they didn't get it all their own way. Our men o-war had a little bit to say in the matter, and when they started it was goodbye Turkish batteries. They broke things up like fun. 

I got on board the hospital ship about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, and no sooner had I got to bed than I was sound asleep. When I woke up we were on our way to Alexandria. The way we were looked after on board was wonderful. The Sisters were as good and kind as any women in the world. They never seemed to want a rest they were going night and day. When we arrived at Alexandria we entrained for Heliopolis and went into hospital for a day and then shifted to Mena. Fred is still fighting. I hope to see him when I go back, which I hope won't be very long. I will be well there by the time this letter reaches you. I will write again before I leave. I will close now with love to all at home. 

Goodbye, Your loving son, Roy

Source: Port Pirie Recorder and North Western Mail, SA, Wednesday 9 June 1915