OSWALD, Thomas Francis
| Service Number: | 3876 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 August 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Lance Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 4th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Casterton, Victoria, Australia, 1887 |
| Home Town: | Glen Innes, Glen Innes Severn, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Police constable |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 15 April 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Casterton War Memorial, Glen Innes & District Soldiers Memorial, Sandford School Honour Roll, Sandford War Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 3876, 4th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 30 Dec 1915: | Involvement Private, 3876, 4th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '8' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Medic embarkation_ship_number: A7 public_note: '' | |
| 30 Dec 1915: | Embarked Private, 3876, 4th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Medic, Sydney | |
| 15 Apr 1917: | Involvement Lance Corporal, 3876, 4th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 3876 awm_unit: 4th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Lance Corporal awm_died_date: 1917-04-15 |
Help us honour Thomas Francis Oswald's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Thomas Oswald was born in Casterton and his mother died soon after. He was raised by his grandparents on his mother's side. When he was old enough he went to work on farms in the Wimmera district. He once saved the life of his employer who had become caught up in a chaffcutter. When he enlisted he was a mounted trooper at Glen Innes, and as described in a newspaper, 'the NSW police department, lost in him a trustworthy, conscientious fearless, and faithful officer, who felt it but his duty, in another form, to go forth to fight and die for the women of Australia.'
Oswald was killed in action by a bomb or grenade when his isolated outpost was overrun in a powerful German attack at Lagnicourt. All 25 in his post were killed or captured.
Unfortunately no next of kin could be found and his medal recipients were marked as "untraceable".