SORBY, Joseph Austin
| Service Number: | 19823 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 13 December 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 8th Field Artillery Brigade |
| Born: | Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, November 1894 |
| Home Town: | Hawthorn, Mitcham, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Camberwell Grammar School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Clerk |
| Died: | Duodenal Ulcer & General Peritonitis, 3rd Northern General Hospital, Sheffield, Yorkshire, England , 4 April 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
Ecclesall (All Saints) Churchyard, Borough of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 13 Dec 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Gunner, 19823, 8th Field Artillery Brigade | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 May 1916: | Involvement Gunner, 19823, 8th Field Artillery Brigade , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '4' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Medic embarkation_ship_number: A7 public_note: '' | |
| 20 May 1916: | Embarked Gunner, 19823, 8th Field Artillery Brigade , HMAT Medic, Melbourne | |
| 4 Apr 1918: | Involvement Lieutenant, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: awm_unit: 8th Australian Field Artillery Brigade awm_rank: Lieutenant awm_died_date: 1918-04-04 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Cathy Sedgwick
The summary below was completed by Cathy Sedgwick – Facebook “WW1 Australian War Graves in England/UK/Scotland/Ireland”
Died on this date – 4th April…… Joseph Austin Sorby was born in late 1895 at Newcastle, New South Wales.
He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.) on 13th December, 1915 as a a 21 year old, single, Clerk from 13 Hildebrandt Crescent, Grace Park, Hawthorn, Victoria.
Gunner Joseph Austin Sorby, Service number 19823, embarked from Melbourne, Victoria on HMAT Medic (A7) on 20th May, 1916 with the 8th Field Artillery Brigade, 30th Battery & disembarked at Plymouth, England on 18th July, 1916.
Reinforcements were only given basic training in Australia. Training was completed in training units in England. Some of these were located in the Salisbury Plain & surrounding areas in the county of Wiltshire.
On 19th August, 1916 Gunner Sorby was promoted to P (Provisional)/Bombardier in England. He was promoted to Bombardier on the same day.
Bombardier Joseph Austin Sorby was sent to Hospital on 13th December, 1916 with Influenza & rejoined his Brigade from Hospital on 14th December, 1916.
He proceeded overseas to France on 30th December, 1916.
On 6th January, 1917 Bombardier Sorby was transferred from 30th Battery to 31st Battery. He was also promoted to Temporary Corporal to complete establishment at re-organization of 3rd Divisional Artillery on 6th January, 1917 then promoted to Corporal to complete establishment the same day.
Corporal Joseph Austin Sorby was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant on 8th October, 1917.
2nd Lieutenant Joseph Austin Sorby was posted to 30th Battery, 8th Field Artillery Brigade on 8th October, 1917. He was transferred to 29th Battery on 28th October, 1917.
He was sent to Hospital sick on 31st December, 1917 & was admitted to New Zealand Station Hospital. He was transferred to 59th General Hospital at Wisques on 31st December, 1917 with Appendicitis. 2nd Lieutenant Sorby was transferred to 7th General Hospital at St. Omer, France on 31st December, 1917. He was invalided to England on Hospital Ship St. Patrick on 13th January, 1918.
On 8th January, 1918 2nd Lieutenant Sorby was promoted to Lieutenant – A.I.F. List 296.
Lieutenant Sorby was admitted to 3rd London General Hospital, Wandsworth, England on 14th January, 1918 & his appendix was removed that day. He was discharged to Sutton Veny, Wiltshire on 12th March, 1918.
A Medical Report was completed on Lieutenant J. A. Sorby on 25th February, 1918 after his Appendectomy. Lieut Sorby stated that in 1914 “he sprained himself rowing and had pain in left epigastric region and was under treatment a fortnight, Since then he has had occasional attacks of pain in that region, more frequent the last 4 months. The pain last 2 hours and is of a dragging character. He has had the pain ever since he got up from the operation.” The Medical Board found that Lieutenant Joseph Austin Sorby was not fit for General Service for 2 months & not fit for Home Service for 1 month. He was fit for light duty at Home.
On 9th February, 1918 Lieutenant Sorby was detached to 2nd Army Artillery School.
He was admitted to 3rd Northern General Hospital, Sheffield, Yorkshire, England on 12th March, 1918 with a Duodenal ulcer.
Lieutenant Joseph Austin Sorby died on 4th April, 1918 at 3rd Northern General Hospital, Sheffield, Yorkshire, England from Duodenal Ulcer & General Peritonitis.
He was buried in All Saints Churchyard, Ecclesall, Yorkshire, England – (North of Church Tower) just behind the Sorby Family Vault, Old Portion of Cemetery and now has a Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstone.
Joseph Austin Sorby is remembered as a Hawthorn Victorian Football Association Player.
(The above is a summary of my research. The full research can be found by following the link below)
https://ww1austburialsuk.weebly.com/uploads/4/9/7/8/4978039/sorby__joseph_austin.pdf
Biography contributed by Rod Hutchings
The Lieutenant from Hildebrandt Crescent
He reaches into the green valise and touches the rough wool of his football stockings. They are a long way from Hawthorn. Beside them lies a brown and gold jersey, folded flat against his officer’s tunic. To the men of the 8th Field Artillery Brigade, he is Lieutenant Sorby. To the people at home in Grace Park, he is Austin.
Joseph Austin Sorby was born in Newcastle in November 1894. He was the eldest son of Charles and Helen Sorby. Before the war, he worked as a clerk for a steel manufacturer in Melbourne. He was an athlete. He rowed for the Hawthorn Rowing Club and played football for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football Association. He was twenty-one years old when he enlisted on 13/12/1915.
The air in the gun pit is thick with cordite and the smell of hot iron. Gunner Goodling is down. It is September 1917, near the Menin Road. The German shelling is heavy and precise. Sorby, then a Bombardier, does not leave the position. He serves the 18-pounder gun alone. He keeps the rate of fire steady while the earth shakes around the pit.
Two months later, near Zillebeke, a wagon section is hit. Three men are pinned beneath the shattered timber and heavy debris. Sorby moves into the wreckage while the shelling continues. He stays until all three men are free. For these actions, he is twice Mentioned in Dispatches. His commanders note his coolness under fire.
In late December 1917, the pain in his side becomes constant. He is admitted to the 59th General Hospital in France with appendicitis. He is evacuated to England. Surgeons at the 3rd Northern General Hospital in Sheffield perform an appendectomy, but the recovery fails. A duodenal ulcer develops. Peritonitis follows.
Austin Sorby died at 8:45 pm on 04/04/1918. He was twenty-three years old.
The record is silent on his final words, but it is specific about his burial. He was buried in All Saints Churchyard, Ecclesall, behind his family’s vault. Six Lieutenants from the 51st (Queen’s) Regiment carried his coffin. The Union Jack was draped over the wood. His boots and cap rested on top.
Lest we forget
Rod Hutchings
Source Crediting:
National Archives of Australia: B2455, SORBY JOSEPH AUSTIN
Cathy Sedgwick Research: All Saints Churchyard, Ecclesall
Hawthorn Football Club: War Service Records
Click images to start slideshow.