Richard Edmond Courtney
Encyclopedia
Lieutenant Colonel Richard Edmond Courtney CB VD
Volunteer Decoration
The Volunteer Officers' Decoration was created by Royal Warrant under command of Queen Victoria on 25 July 1892 to reward 'efficient and capable' officers of the Volunteer Force who had served for twenty years...

 (8 September 1870 – 21 October 1919) was an Australian Soldier in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. Courtney's and Steel's Post Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery
Courtney's and Steel's Post Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery
Courtney's and Steel's Post Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery located near ANZAC Cove on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey...

 is named after a position in the Anzac sector named after him during the Battle of Gallipoli
Battle of Gallipoli
The Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign or the Battle of Gallipoli, took place at the peninsula of Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire between 25 April 1915 and 9 January 1916, during the First World War...

.

He was born in Castlemaine, Victoria
Castlemaine, Victoria
Castlemaine is a city in Victoria, Australia, in the Goldfields region of Victoria about 120 kilometres northwest by road from Melbourne, and about 40 kilometres from the major provincial centre of Bendigo. It is the administrative and economic centre of the Shire of Mount Alexander. The...

 and educated at Melbourne Church of England Grammar School. He enrolled into Melbourne Law School in 1889 and qualified as a solicitor.

He was the Lieutenant-Colonel in command of the 14th Battalion of the Australian Imperial Force
First Australian Imperial Force
The First Australian Imperial Force was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during World War I. It was formed from 15 August 1914, following Britain's declaration of war on Germany. Generally known at the time as the AIF, it is today referred to as the 1st AIF to distinguish from...

 at Gallipoli. He was mentioned in dispatches
Mentioned in Dispatches
A soldier Mentioned in Despatches is one whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which is described the soldier's gallant or meritorious action in the face of the enemy.In a number of countries, a soldier's name must be mentioned in...

 twice in November 1915, and gazetted with the CB in the same month. Invalided to England he was placed in command of the Weymouth Base Depot. He returned to Australia, arriving in March 1916 and his appointment with the AIF
First Australian Imperial Force
The First Australian Imperial Force was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during World War I. It was formed from 15 August 1914, following Britain's declaration of war on Germany. Generally known at the time as the AIF, it is today referred to as the 1st AIF to distinguish from...

was terminated on 22 May 1916 shortly before he appointed acting commandant for Western Australia 10 June, a post he held until to 15 February 1919. Following the Armistice he became Chief Clerk of the Victorian Branch Repatriation Department. He died of a brain haemorrhage in 1919, in Melbourne.
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