Boy sailor to Anzac hero story wows great-great-granddaughter

HERBERT Marshall was 15 when he joined the Royal Australian Navy in World War I, just four years older than great-great-granddaughter Bianca is now.

Bianca Marshall, 11 from Mascot NSW for the Anzac Coins promotion, this will be shared across the group. Each of them has a connection with a Digger family. Picture: Jonathan Ng

HERBERT Marshall was only 15 when he joined the Royal Australian Navy in World War I, just four years older than great-great-granddaughter Bianca is now.

Bianca is more than a little impressed by her ancestor’s achievements as a boy sailor — and that he survived the horror of war.

“When he was 16, he broke the Australian morse code speed record. Pretty cool,’’ she said.

Herbert served on three ships — Tingara, Cerberus and Australia .

Over the course of the war, the RAN fleet more than doubled and its numbers swelled from 3800 to 5000 sailors.

Bianca said her great-great-grandfather, an electrician and morse code operator, was with the RAN until 1927.

As part of Herald Sun’s Centenary of Anzac campaign, in collaboration with the Australian Mint, a 14-piece coin collection is available to our readers.Tap here for more

Originally published as Boy sailor to Anzac hero story wows great-great-granddaughter