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Patrick Frederick Dench - Information

Patrick Dench was born in Ryde, England, and eventually migrated to Australia with his family. Once in Australia, the Dench family lived on Queen St in Campbelltown. Patrick and his older brother, Charles, remained in Campbelltown working for the railway. The Dench family soon said goodbye to Patrick's older brother, Charles, whom joined the AIF in 1915. Patrick also chose to enlist on the 9th of October 1916 at the Showground Camp in Sydney.

Patrick trained as a Private at the Showground Camp before being posted to the Machine Gun Depot at Seymour in Victoria. He departed Australia with the 14th Machine Gun Company on the RMS Osterley, sailing from Melbourne on the 14th of February 1917. His unit arrived at Plymouth in April 1917, and was marched into the Training Depot at Grantham. By the 3rd of July, Patrick was shipped to France and taken on strength to the 14th Machine Gun Company in October, joining the action during the Third Battle of Ypres. By the beginning of 1918, Patrick was suffering with illness, and was taken out of the lines for treatment. He was then posted to the Australian Employ Company for lighter duties, when he returned from hospital in July. After a medical review board examination, Patrick was transferred to the No. 2 Command Depot in Weymouth, England. In January 1919, he began his trip home to Australia.