Arthur Harvey and his wife Colleen left their home in Western Australia on Friday to visit the site where acting Sergeant Harold Jack Armitage Harvey was wounded during the Battle of the Lys on April 17, 1918.

On that same day, fellow soldier and Launceston-born Lieutenant Edmund Bromley King was wounded and killed when the Germans launched an artillery attack on the men, east of Hazebrouck.

Mr Harvey said during his trip, he and his wife planned to visit not only the location where his father and Lt King were wounded, but also Lt King’s grave at the military cemetery near Ebblinghem in northern France.

“We are interested to contact any members of Lt King’s family as we would like them to know that, 100 years later, Lt King’s sacrifice will be remembered,” he said.

Lt King’s service records on the National Archives of Australia  reveal he was 22 when he joined at Claremont in Tasmania in December, 1914.

A letter from his mother, Laura G King, was sent from Invermay in Tasmania to the base records office in Melbourne on May 4, 1918, after Lt King was killed.

“I have been notified of the death of my son … I should be deeply grateful for any information you could give regarding his demise as the telegram merely stated that he died of wounds,” she wrote.

A document in his records detailed his death.

“When in support near Pradelles on 17-4-18 [sic] a direct hit was obtained on a house in which he was in. He was wounded in the back,” it read.

“He subsequently died of wounds on the same day … and was buried in military cemetery at Ebblinghem. We still hope to erect a cross shortly.”

While at war he had in his possession a colt automatic pistol, small notebook, jack knife, two pipes, clothing, boot brushes, a razor, a protractor, cigarettes, his wallet, letters from home and photos.

He also had his stars and badges, all of which was shipped back to his mother in Tasmania after he was killed, with copies of the parcel receipts kept as part of his service records.

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Mr Harvey has made it his retirement mission to find out exactly what happened all those years ago on the battlefield.

“After my mother passed away and my elder brother had already passed away, the remnants of my father’s military items were divided between my brother and myself, so that was really the beginning of it.

“It’s extremely important to remember their sacrifice.

“My elder brother was a soldier for 20 years, one of his sons is a serving officer in the Royal Australia Air Force and a number of my father’s brothers were soldiers so we have a tradition in the family of military service.”

A/Sgt Harvey’s service records revealed he was evacuated to England after he was wounded and spent months recovering before he returned to the frontline in October, 1918.

He had been a soldier for more than three years when he was wounded after enlisting when he was 28 in August, 1915 in Brisbane, Queensland.

He was sent overseas within his first two months and did not return to Australia until a year after the war ended in June, 1919 before being discharged the following month. 

A/Sgt Harvey died in 1955, when he was 69 and Mr Harvey was five.

While Mr Harvey has visited battlefields across the world, he said the venture to France was something he had been planning for years.

The seven-week trip will include attending the Dawn Service as guests at Villers-Bretonneux, where two Australian brigades and three British battalions launched a counter-attack on the Germans on April 24, 1918. 

About 2400 soldiers died during the battle of Villers-Bretonneux in France. 

Other than the information found in the national database, Mr Harvey said he was still hoping to find out more about Lt King, the man who sacrificed his life for his comrades, including his own father.

“What happened that day was the entire Australian first division, 12 battalions, were rushed north to march forward into battle to stop the German advance,” he said.

“It was during the 12th battalion march forward, the Germans brought down an artillery barrage on the little village of Pradelles.”

The barrage lasted more than two hours, 30 people were injured and Lt King was killed.

“It could have been my father who was killed, and I may not have been here,” Mr Harvey said.

“So on the 17th of April, we will be laying a wreath at Lt King’s grave.

“I am sure my father would want his fellow soldiers and mates remembered for their sacrifice.”