WELCH, Septimus
| Service Number: | 31092 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 8 October 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Gunner |
| Last Unit: | 6th Field Artillery Brigade |
| Born: | Cooma, New South Wales, Australia, 1890 |
| Home Town: | North Sydney, North Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Fort Street Model School, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Clerk |
| Died: | Killed in action, France, 17 October 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
Naves Communal Cemetery Extension, France Plot IV, Row B, Grave 3. NOT WITH THE HOPE OF GAINING AUGHT NOT SEEKING A REWARD |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Baulkham Hills William Thompson Masonic School War Memorial, Petersham Fort Street High School Great War Honour Roll, Sydney United Grand Lodge Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 8 Oct 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Gunner, 31092, 1st Field Artillery Brigade | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Dec 1916: | Involvement Gunner, 31092, 1st Field Artillery Brigade, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '3' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: RMS Orontes embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 19 Dec 1916: | Embarked Gunner, 31092, 1st Field Artillery Brigade, RMS Orontes, Sydney | |
| 17 Oct 1918: | Involvement Gunner, 31092, 6th Field Artillery Brigade , --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 31092 awm_unit: 6th Australian Field Artillery Brigade awm_rank: Gunner awm_died_date: 1918-10-17 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Septimus (Sep) Welch was the son of Charles Frederick and Eleanor Florentina Welch of 'Athenia', North Sydney, New South Wales. He was a clerk and worked for the Perpetual Trustees Company.
Sep Welch enlisted in October 1916 and served in the Artillery. He was posted to the 106th Howitzer Battery during August 1917. This was the unit of his younger brother, Frank Welch, who had enlisted in October 1915. Somehow the brothers managed to get into the same unit.
On 17 October 1918, both men were with this Battery which was in action near the town of St. Souplet, France. Septimus Welch was killed during the afternoon when a shell from his own howitzer prematurely exploded on firing.
His brother, Frank Welch had been mortally wounded on the morning of this this day, hit by pieces of an enemy 5.9-inch German shell which exploded near him when he was in a forward observation post doing reconnaissance. Frank suffered severe shrapnel wounds to the thigh and died in a hospital in Rouen, France, over a week later, at 22 years of age.
The brothers have the same epitaph on their headstones, NOT WITH THE HOPE OF GAINING AUGHT NOT SEEKING A REWARD, which is taken from a hymn. They are buried over 200 kilometers apart. Even more tragic was the fact that the Armistice and the end of the war was only weeks away when they met their deaths.
Another brother, Gunner Harold Arthur Welch, served with the 111th British Heavy Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery.
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