Historical information

Dr Michele Matthews has been a local and social historian for nearly three decades since she first used correspondence held by the then Bendigo City Council for her Honours thesis. She is an ardent advocate for the use of local history records to tell Victorian and Australian history from a grassroots perspective. Michele’s MA thesis, ‘A forgotten “Father” of Federation: Sir John Quick 1852‑1911’ (2003), and her PhD thesis, ‘Survivors, schemes, Samaritans and shareholders: the impact of the Great Depression on Bendigo and District 1925‑1935’ (2007), both drew heavily on Bendigo and district records.

Michele used this Discharge Certificate as part of her research:

This is a Certificate of Discharge from the Australian Imperial Expeditionary Force (AIF) for Private Horace Victor Betteridge, service number 13379, who served with the 13th Field Ambulance.

Key details

Name: Horace Victor Betteridge
Rank: Private
Unit: 13th Field Ambulance
Place of birth: Bendigo, Victoria
Age on enlistment: 29½ years
Discharge reason: Declared medically unfit, not due to misconduct.
Date of discharge: 14 June 1918
Place of discharge: Melbourne, Victoria

Service record

Service towards completion of engagement: 1,078 days
Service abroad: 795 days
No medals or decorations are recorded on the certificate.
Physical description at discharge
Age: 32½ years
Height: 5 ft 8 in (approximately 173 cm)
Complexion: Fair
Hair: Black
Eyes: Blue
Trade/Occupation: Clerk
Identifying mark: Vaccination marks on left arm

Residence

Intended place of residence after discharge:
82 Forest Street, Bendigo

The document shows that Horace Victor Betteridge served overseas for over two years during World War I before being discharged in 1918 on medical grounds. As a member of the 13th Field Ambulance, he would have served in a medical support unit responsible for treating and evacuating wounded soldiers near the front lines.

Physical description

Michele Matthews Collection: PHD Research - Certificate of Discharge - Horace Betteridge

This item includes the following documents:

8672.28a Photocopy, two pages of an Australian Imperial Expeditionary Force Certificate of Discharge for Horace Victor Betteridge, 14th June 1914