KING, Osborne
| Service Number: | 5617 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 28th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Hurdcott, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, 1886 |
| Home Town: | Cannington, Canning, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 26 March 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Kalamunda Wattle Grove Progress Association Roll of Honor, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 26 Sep 1916: | Involvement Private, 5617, 28th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '16' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Surada embarkation_ship_number: A52 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 26 Sep 1916: | Embarked Private, 5617, 28th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Surada, Fremantle |
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Add my storyBiography
Osborne emigrated to Western Australia aboard the SS Armadale, arriving in Fremantle on 27 Dec 1910 described as a 25 year old agricultural labourer. Moving first to Burracoppin in the central wheatbelt, by 1916 he had moved to Karragullen where he was employed as a labourer.
War Service
Entered Blackboy Hill camp on 4 Apr 1916 and on 1 May 1916 he was allotted to the 15th reinforcement draft for the 28th Battalion.
Arriving in Plymouth on 29 Nov 1916 Osborne was sent to, but spent very little time in a training battalion before on 21 Dec 1916 when he proceeded overseas to France aboard HMT Princesse Clementine from Folkestone. On arrival he was held at the 2nd Division's Base Depot in Étaples before joining the 28th Battalion in the filed on 18 Jan 1917.
During late February, early March 1917 the German forces made a strategic withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line (shorter line to defend), fighting rear-guard actions as the Australians and British followed up. The 28th Battalion figured in a week long battle to gain Malt Trench from the enemy near Warlencourt.
On 26 Mar 1917, the 28th Battalion, acting in support of the 26th Battalion launched an attack on German positions in and around Lagnicourt. The battalion's casualties for the day included 4 Officers and 17 Other Ranks killed, primarily those who had advanced around the south east of the Lagnicourt village, fighting a defensive action to keep the Germans from regaining the village. Osborne was one of those killed.