SAMBROOK, Horace John
| Service Number: | 9961 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Sapper |
| Last Unit: | 9th Field Company Engineers |
| Born: | Chippendale, New South Wales, Australia, 21 September 1893 |
| Home Town: | Erskineville, City of Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Locomotive Fireman |
| Died: | Died of wounds, France, 2 May 1917, aged 23 years |
| Cemetery: |
Trois Arbres Cemetery, Steenwerck, Nord Pas de Calais |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 5 Jul 1916: | Involvement Sapper, 9961, 9th Field Company Engineers, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '5' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Ajana embarkation_ship_number: A31 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Jul 1916: | Embarked Sapper, 9961, 9th Field Company Engineers, HMAT Ajana, Sydney | |
| 1 May 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Sapper, 9961, 9th Field Company Engineers, Fragment of anti-aircraft shell struck him in the head. Died of his wounds at the 2nd Australian Casualty Clearing Station the next day. |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by John Oakes
Horace John SAMBROOK (Service Number 9961) was born at Chippendale on 21st September 1893. He joined the NSW Government Railways as a call boy at the Eveleigh locomotive depot in April 1910, having previously been employed casually. On New Year’s Day 1912 he became a foreman’s clerk. A month later hewas made a cleaner, so taking the first step on the career path of an engineman. In March 1915 he was transferred to Goulburn for four months, before returning to Eveleigh. In January 1916 he was appointed a firelighter, preparing engines for service. He described himself as a railway fireman when he enlisted in the AIF at Sydney in March 1916.
He was allotted to the 9th Field Company of Engineers. He embarked from Sydney in July 1916 and was landed in England in August. In October he was admitted to Fargo Military Hospital with inguinal hernia, for which he underwent an operation. He was discharged in December. In March 1917 he was sent to France and joined his unit in April.
On 1st May 1917 he was mortally wounded. One of the witnesses of his wounding told the Red Cross later that the Company were in billets in Armentières.nSambrook was just going on duty as gas sentry:
‘He had just passed through the gate when a shell fell. It had been fired by anti-aircraft guns at aeroplanes fighting just over us – either by the Fritz anti-aircraft guns or our own. A fragment struck him in the head. He was taken to the hospital and I heard he died…’
Another witness recalled that:
‘Sambrook was a great friend of his. He was an excellent pianist and as a result was very popular.’
He died of his wounds at the 2nd Australian Casualty Clearing Station on 2 May 1917, and was buried in the Trois Arbres Military Cemetery, Steenwerck, 3½ miles WNW of Armentières.
Although he had given his father’s name as next of kin, he was also survived by an ex-nuptial daughter, for whom a war pension had been granted by the authorities. In 1923 his Victory Medal and Memorial Plaque were given to her mother in trust for her daughter. The British War Medal and Memorial Scroll were given to his father as next of kin.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.
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