SLOANE, Hume Robertson (1888-1972)Hume Robertson Sloane was born on 19 June 1888, a son of James Sloane and Amy Elizabeth nee Robertson.
He was a boarder at Geelong College from 1904 and his address at the time of his enrolment was
Benara Station, Mulwala, New South Wales.
He enlisted (No 18457) in the AlF on 10 August 1917. Alexander and Anne Sloane wrote about him in their book, 'To Fly Like an Eagle':
'After several attempts at enlisting, unsuccessful due to impaired sight, he was finally accepted as a stretcher bearer ). This involved picking up the dead and wounded after each time the infantry 'went over the top'. There is no surviving correspondence from Hume, and in later life he never spoke about his war service.' He embarked on
HMAT A71 Nestor on 21 November to Egypt, then proceeded on
HMT Abbassieh to Taranto and served in France with 3rd Australian Casualty Clearing Station in the Australian Army Medical Corps (AAMC). He took six months' leave with pay, from 23 April 1919 until 23 October under the Repatriation and Demobilisation Scheme, attending the Architectural Association School, Bedford Square, London.
Hume Sloane returned to Australia on
HMT Aeneas, embarking on 22 November 1919. He died on 2 April 1972.
His brothers,
Alexander James Sloane (1886-1971), and
William Douglas Sloane (1890-1917), were also educated at Geelong College.
Sources: Based on an edited extract from ‘Geelong Collegians at the Great War’ compiled by James Affleck. p312 (citing Alexander Henderson, 'Henderson 's Australian Families' (1941); Alexander and Anne Sloane, 'To Fly Like an Eagle: the vision, achievements and War Service of Australian pioneer aviator Douglas Sloane 1890-1917'; National Archives; The Pegasus).