Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Peter Charles OTT (Service Number 2859A) was born on 9th June 1889 at Lancefield, Victoria. Of particular importance later when Ott decided to enlist was the fact that his father had been born in Germany, had arrived in Australia in the mid 1870s and had married an English-born woman. The father had been naturalised but was dead by the time of the Great War.
Ott first worked for the NSW Government Railways as a temporary fuelman at Junee Locomotive Depot from 21st February 1916 and there is no record of his status ever changing. He was granted leave to join the Expeditionary Forces on 1st November 1916.

Ott had already enlisted in Melbourne on 18th October. He had evidently returned home before enlisting. Because of his paternity the Lancefield Confidential Committee became involved.
This committee was required to give a ‘written opinion as to this man’s loyalty also for the signature of each member of the Committee which is essential.’ Thus, it would seem that only a unanimous decision was acceptable, and such must have been arrived at for he was recruited.
Unmarried, with his parents dead, he nominated his brother George as his next of kin. He was allotted to the 38th Battalion. He embarked HMAT ‘Medic’ at Melbourne on 16th December 1916 and reached Plymouth on 18th February 1917. He then passed through a long series of training units before proceeding overseas to France on 25th August 1917 to be taken on the strength of the Battalion on 2nd September.
He was killed in action in Belgium on 4th October. W J Trevaskis (1313) reported:
‘He was killed on the 4/10/17 during an attack on the enemy. Killed by shell fire. He had not long joined up and was not well known in the Company. He did not come out from this stunt and was killed there.’
The Divisional Burials Officer certified his place of burial as ¾ mile N of Zonnebeke Village (Map reading D.15d.0.0). As was common, this place could not be found later, and Ott has no known grave. He is remembered on the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Belgium.
The NSW Railways had lost track of Ott. On 5th July 1920 they wrote, over the signature of Chief Mechanical Engineer, E E Lucy, to the military, enquiring as to his whereabouts. The reply was of course that he had been dead for two and a half years. The name Peter C Ott thus first appeared on any Roll of Honour only in the 1921 Annual Report and subsequently the Honour Board.

- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.