GOSPER, Vincent James
| Service Numbers: | 2182, N78431 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 28 March 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Lance Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 45th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | MOLONG, NSW, 23 December 1892 |
| Home Town: | Molong, Cabonne, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Blacksmith |
| Died: | Molong, New South Wales, Australia, 16 August 1948, aged 55 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Molong Cemetery, New South Wales, Australia |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 28 Mar 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2182, 45th Infantry Battalion | |
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| 22 Aug 1916: | Embarked Private, 2182, 45th Infantry Battalion , HMAT Wiltshire, Sydney | |
| 22 Aug 1916: | Involvement Private, 2182, 45th Infantry Battalion , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '19' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Wiltshire embarkation_ship_number: A18 public_note: '' | |
| 12 Apr 1918: | Promoted AIF WW1, Sergeant, 45th Infantry Battalion |
World War 2 Service
| 19 Aug 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lance Sergeant, N78431 |
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Help us honour Vincent James Gosper's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Sergeant Vincent James Gosper D.C.M. 45th Battalion AIF was the son of Archibald George and Hannah Gosper of Molong, New South Wales.
His younger brother, 6559 Pte. Delmyr Gee Gosper 36th Battalion AIF was killed in action near Passchendaele, 11 October 1917, at 22 years of age.
Vincent was severely wounded the very next day in the same area and was evacuated to England with gunshot wounds to his shoulder and foot. He rejoined his unit in France on Christmas eve 1917.
Vincent was awarded a Distinguished Conduct Medal at Dernancourt, France, after the Germans had launched their large counter-attack in March 1918. The award was for, “conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty near Dernancourt on 5 April 1918. He was in charge of a platoon in the support line, when he received a report that the enemy was bombing his way up. He rallied his men, and, by skillful control of fire, held up the advance for two hours. When almost surrounded, he withdrew his men in good order, and took up a fresh position.”
After the war, Vincent James Gosper married Kathleen Kinsela, of Manildra, and for about three years they carried on a blacksmithing business at Manildra. After leaving Manildra, he was a share-farmer on 'Derowie,' Cudal for 11 years, and only left that work to come to Molong to enable his children to be educated. Gosper was leading hand for Molong Municipal Council up to the time of World War 2, when he joined the voluntary AIF as an instructor at Tamworth and Cowra. When he was discharged 18 months later, he rejoined the Council staff in the electricity department, where he was employed up to the time of his death.
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