Roy Lytton Cummings

Submitted by Mt Kembla Minin... on Tue, 04/10/2016 - 13:34

First Name:

Roy

Middle Name:

Lytton

Last Name:

Cummings

Date of Birth:

Sunday, December 31, 1893

Mother's Name:

Marcia Cummings nee Higgins

Father's Name:

Dr Harold Cummings

Date Enlisted:

Wednesday, August 18, 1915

Rank at Enlistment:

Private

Rank at Discharge:

Lieutenant

Unit:

3rd Australian Field Ambulance

Awards:

1914/1915 Star

British War Medal

Victory Medal

Date of Death:

Wednesday, August 28, 1918

Place of Death:

Gloucester, England

Cause of Death:

Accident

Details:

Roy Cummings (Service No 5561) was born in Sydney and attended school at Queens College, Hobart.

At enlistment Roy he was single, 21 years old, and worked as an orchardist. Roy's father, Harold, of Franklin, Tasmania, was his nominated next-of-kin. During the war, Roy's parents moved to Thirroul, N.S.W.

He embarked from Melbourne on HMAT A71 Ballarat with 10th Reinforcements, 3rd Field Ambulance on 9th September 1915. He arrived on Gallipoli on 3rd November 1915 and served there as a medic.

In Egypt, after the evacuation of Gallipoli, Roy transferred to the Australian Mechanical Transport Service on 13th January 1916 and arrived in France on 16th June 1916 as a motor driver.

On 25th September 1917 Roy transferred to the Australian Flying Corps and was sent to England for flight training.

He was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant when he qualified as a pilot on 27th March 1918. After successfully completing a number of schools he was made an instructor with the 5th Training Squadron.

At 7.25 am on 18th August he was in the air flying an Avro 504k when a student under instruction in another aircraft flew into the side of his plane. All three occupants of the planes were killed.

Roy is buried in Leighterton Church Cemetery at Boxwell-with-Leighterton, Gloucester, England.