BAYLIS, Oswald Cecil Jeffrey
| Service Number: | 590 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 21 August 1914, Sydney, New South Wales |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Orange, New South Wales, 5 November 1890 |
| Home Town: | Lithgow, Lithgow, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | East Orange Public School |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Gallipoli, Gallipoli, Dardanelles, Turkey, 2 May 1915, aged 24 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Dunedoo & District War Memorial, Dunedoo and District Avenue of Honour, East Orange Public School Roll of Honor, Lithgow War Memorial, Lone Pine Memorial to the Missing, Portland District War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 21 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 590, Sydney, New South Wales | |
|---|---|---|
| 18 Oct 1914: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 590, 2nd Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Suffolk embarkation_ship_number: A23 public_note: '' | |
| 18 Oct 1914: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 590, 2nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Suffolk, Sydney | |
| 25 Apr 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 590, 2nd Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli | |
| 2 May 1915: | Involvement Australian Army (Post WW2), Private, 590, 2nd Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli |
Help us honour Oswald Cecil Jeffrey Baylis's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by John Edwards
"Oswald Cecil Jeffrey Baylis was killed in action on 2 May 1915; seven days after “D” Company, 2nd Battalion AIF, his unit, landed at what became known as Anzac Cove on the Gallipoli Peninsula. Oswald Baylis was born in Orange on 5 November 1890 to John Godfrey Baylis and Isabella Sarah Baylis (nee Frost). He had two siblings, Augustus and Edith (who later married Arthur Sara). He attended Orange East Public School and according to newspapers of the day was an employee of the NSW Railways. Although his time had expired, Oswald Baylis had already been part of the 3rd A.I.R. based at Lithgow when he enlisted in Sydney on 22 August 1914. He embarked on HMAT Suffolk A23 on 18 October 1914 and landed in Egypt on 8 December.
D Company formed part of the second and third wave of landings on the Gallipoli Peninsula. Thirty one officers and 937 other men carrying 70 pound back packs scrambled down rope ladders and packed, like sardines, into the landing craft which slowly make their way to the beach. Disembarking under heavy fire, they were greeted with the carnage of the dead and wounded of 3rd Battalion lying nearby. For seven days, Baylis, along with others of his ilk, endured the relentless gun fire and shelling in the trenches of Anzac Cove inflicted by Turkish Forces pushing back the upward advance.
His mother, now a widow, was notified of his death, but it was not until the end of 1917 that she received his personal effects which comprised of a scarf, cards, gift tin, wrist strap and an eye bandage. In 1967 Oswald’s nephew, Arthur Keith Sara, who saw service in WWII as member of the 2nd AIF, claimed his medals: the British Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal. He stated he would be very proud to have them.
Oswald Cecil Jeffrey Baylis is remembered on Panel 16 of the Lone Pine Memorial at Gallipoli, Orange East Public School Honour Roll and in Newman Park, where his name appears on a plaque commemorating former Orange East Public School students who were killed in action." - SOURCE (www.theorangewiki.orange.nsw.gov.au)
"Killed in Action. O. C. J BAYLISS, Lithgow.
Rev. D. H. Dillon received an urgent wire on Monday morning that Pte. Oswald Cecil Jeffrey Bayliss, who enlisted from Lithgow, and whoses home was formally here, had been killed in action. The late soldier was the son of Mrs. Sara, formerly of John-street, and afterwards of Lithgow-street. The circumstances are sad, as the lad's mother is at present an inmate of Gladesville Asylum. The lad was employed on the local railway staff. It is said there are no immediate relatives in the district." - from the Lithgow Mercury 16 Jun 1915 (nla.gov.au)
Biography contributed by Bradley Bliss
Oswald Cecil Jeffrey Baylis was born in Orange in 1891 to Mrs Isabella Sara. He grew up with his siblings, Augustus and Edith.
Oswald Baylis worked as a labourer and was amongst the first Australian men to enlist in World War 1, doing so on the 21st August 1914, barely a week after voluntary recruitment commenced.
Private Baylis embarked on the HMAT Suffolk A23 ship from Sydney on the 18th October 1914 to commence service for the Australian Imperial Force in the 2nd Infantry Battalion.
He participated in the Gallipoli landings on the 25th April 1915 and was killed in action just eight days later on the 2nd May 1915.
Private Baylis has no known grave, however he is memorialised in the Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli.