WIA GALLIPOLI 16TH BN 1935 PTE JAMES CUTHBERT RICHARDS MEDAL TRIO ANZAC AIF

Offered is a WW1 Australian Gallipoli ‘wounded in action’ medal group to Private J. Richards, 16th Battalion, who was shot in the head 25/8/1915 at No.1 Outpost

1914 – 15 Star, impressed named 1935 PTE J.C. RICHARDS. 16/BN A.I.F.; British War and Victory Medals, impressed named 1935 PTE J.C. RICHARDS. 16 BN. A.I.F. Comes with copy’s service records and photograph of his grave.

James Cuthbert Richards was born in 1887 at Moonta, South Australia. A widower, he was working as a hotel porter when he enlisted on 25/1/1915 at Oaklands, S.A. to the 5th reinforcements 16th Battalion. He sailed from Adelaide 20/4/1915 on H.M.A.T. A20 Hororata, landing at Port Tawfik (Suez) 18th May. From there to Gallipoli to be taken on strength of the Battalion on the 17th June. At the time the Battalion was in the reserve area behind the Sphinx. It was attempting to build up numbers after the heavy casualties from the 2 months fighting, however all ranks began to suffer from diarrhea and dysentery causing a constant drain on the numbers. On the 9th August the Battalion was serving in ANZAC manning the No 1 Outpost near Hill 60. He was wounded in the head on the 25th August and transferred to Mudros 27th August (from the No 16 Casualty Clearing Station) and evacuated to England 30th August. He was admitted to King George Hospital at Stanford on the 16/9/15 as dangerously ill. He was also suffering from enteric fever (Typhoid which is caused by eating contaminated food and water). From the history “The Old Sixteenth” ‘On the 28th August, the Battalion handed over the post to the 17th Battalion. By this stage many of the men could hardly walk and their physical condition was ‘most distressing’. He was invalided back to Australia 13/5/1916 to be discharged 23/8/1916 and died June 1938 in Adelaide.