Harold William Furlong was born in Ballarat and was a Battery Feeder by trade when he enlisted in the 24th Battalion, 4th Reinforcement on 12 July 1915 at the age of 20. His unit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A20 Hororata on 27 September 1915. He served in France until sickness necessitated his return to England. On October 12th 1917 he faced a District Court Martial charged with æbeing AWL (absent without leave) from 24/8/17 until apprehended by military authorities in London on 6/10/17' for which he was sentenced to 140 days detention. While he was at the Lewes Detention Barracks, 56 days of his sentence were remitted, and in January 1918 he was able to rejoin his battalion in France. In March he was forced back to hospital in England for two months, suffering from æinflammation of the inguinal glands'. He returned to France in May but on August 27th 1918 he was wounded in action and evacuated to the South African Hospital in Surrey, England. He had suffered a severe gunshot wound to his right thigh which effectively ended the war for him. He returned to Australia on the Takada and disembarked back in Melbourne on February 11th 1919.
Tree No: 3342