Henry John Frederick Peters (1881 – 16 December 1918) was an Australian Labour Party (ALP) politician, later serving and losing his life to the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Henry was born Heinrich Johannes Friedrich Peters on 28th May 1879 in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, Germany, contrary to information from the Parliament of New South Wales, whom record his birth as 1st January 1881 in

Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 56,000 as of June 2018, Wagga Wagga is the state's la ...

. Parents Henning and Johanna Margaretha Peters immigrated to Australia upon the ship ''Erlangen'' in 1890, and taking residence in Temora. Henry attended primary school at Temora but left at a young age to help the family with mining and general bush work, though later became a compositor on local newspapers the Temora Star and Temora Independent. Henry received Australian naturalisation on 30th October 1903, as Henry John Frederick Peters. From 1904 to 1906 he owned and edited the Grenfell Vedette, but the paper failed. After few years of secretary work for Mr J. C. Watson M.P., in 1907 he was elected as a

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

member of the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

, representing

Deniliquin Deniliquin () is a town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, close to the border with Victoria. It is the largest town in the Edward River Council local government area. Deniliquin is located at the intersection of the Riverina ...

, transferring to

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

in 1913. He was declared bankrupt in 1914, and so forfeited his seat. In 1916 he tried unsuccessfully to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force, being declared unfit on grounds of insufficient eyesight. He later successfully enlisted in April 1917 under the alias Henry Edward Murray, No. 7522, and served as Private in the 1st Infantry Battalion on the Western Front in France during the years of 1917 and 1918,

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Private 'Murray' was wounded in action in April 1918, and returned to the United Kingdom for a period of convalescence. In August 1918 he sustained a right distal leg fracture in a minor wagon accident at the Convalescent Training Depot at Parkhouse, Wiltshire. On 16th December 1918 he died at the Tidworth Military Hospital, the post-mortem determining death from Acute Atrophy Liver, though further antecedent causes were not stated. Henry was interred at the Tidworth Military Cemetery under his true identity, with full military honours including the

British War Medal The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were struck in si ...

and Victory Medal. Henry Peters was survived by his wife Winifred (née Wallis), and their children Sylvia, William, and Roy Peters.

References

1881 births 1918 deaths Australian Army soldiers Military personnel from New South Wales Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales 20th-century Australian politicians Australian military personnel killed in World War I {{Australia-Labor-NewSouthWales-MP-stub