Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

This biography is about Oscar Grimes. World War 1 started on the 28th of July, and lasted to the 11th of November 1918 (Australian-Defence-Force, 2013). The war was between two alliances. These were the Central Powers and the Allied Powers. World War 1 started when Great Britain declared war on Germany. Australia then supported them, and joined the war on Great Britain’s side. One of the first battles the Australians fought was in Gallipoli, which started on the 19th of February 1916, and ended 9th of January 1916. (Australian-Defence-Force, Timeline: Australia in the first World War, 2014)

Oscar Grimes was born in July 1878. The day of his birth in unknown. He was born in Brownhill Creek, South Australia. Before the war, he worked as a labourer. Oscar Grimes did not have any previous military experience before World War 1. His mother was Martha Grimes. He never had any children, and was not married to anybody. (Australian Imperial Force, Base Records Office, 2001)

Oscar embarked on the H.T. ‘Oriana’ on the 21st of March, 1916 in Alexandria, and disembarked overseas on the 27th of March, 1916 in Marseilles, France. He joined the 1st Anzac Entrenching Battalion in Etaples on the 25th of June, 1916, as a part of the 7th reinforcements. This meant that Oscar was serving in the frontline, primarily in the trenches. Oscar Grimes was first taken on strength on the 15th of July, 1916, and this seemed like a happy period. However, Oscar Grimes was reported AWOL on the 21st of September, 1916 from the hours 0700 to 1915, resulting in one day’s worth of pay being docked. Then, he was reported wounded in action, on the 11th of November, 1916. On the 31st of December, 1916, Oscar had gone missing and had officially been posted as missing in action. This was changed to killed in action on the 31st of December, 1916, and Oscar Grimes was buried on the 3rd of January, 1918.

It is unknown the exact date/time/wherabouts of Oscar’s death, but it is likely that he died in Marseilles, on the 31st of December, 1916, as it was the day in which his ‘missing in action’ status had been changed to ‘killed in action’.

Not much else is known about Oscar Grimes, except that he received medals for his efforts, which were given to his father. His body (as stated before) now lies somewhere in Marseilles, France. His immediate family members were notified of Oscar’s death while serving for his country, which would have definitely affected her and the family negatively. His community would have also been saddened and negatively affected. Brownhill Creek was a small town, and losing a member of their community as well as a labourer must have been devastating. It is not confirmed, but normally the army would send a package of his belongings, and that Oscar Grimes was officially dead. However, it must have been hard to believe that this little amount of information on Oscar and his fate brought much closure. This bibliography, as a part of a historical inquiry into the life of Oscar Grimes, aims to provide that closure by letting Oscar’s family and friends of all the details concerning his time in the army, and also to commemorate his service.

Bibliography:

Awm.gov.au. (2017). Australian War Memorial. [online] Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/unit/U51467/ [Accessed 15 Mar. 2017].

Awm.gov.au. (2017). First World War 1914–18 | Australian War Memorial. [online] Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/ww1/ [Accessed 6 Apr. 2017].

National Archives of Australia. (2017). GRIMES Oscar. [online] Available at: https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=4703789&isAv=N [Accessed 15 Mar. 2017].

Rslvirtualwarmemorial.org.au. (2017). Oscar GRIMES. [online] Available at: https://rslvirtualwarmemorial.org.au/explore/people/222883 [Accessed 18 Mar. 2017].

Rslvirtualwarmemorial.org.au. (2017). 27th Infantry Battalion. [online] Available at: https://rslvirtualwarmemorial.org.au/explore/units/2 [Accessed 16 Mar. 2017].