41397
BOTTEN, Edwin
| Service Number: | 1059 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 7 August 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 10th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, 29 December 1888 |
| Home Town: | North Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Hairdresser |
| Died: | Daw Park, City of Mitcham, South Australia, 25 February 1967, aged 78 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Centennial Park Cemetery, South Australia |
| Memorials: | Lower North Adelaide War Memorial WW1, North Adelaide Christ Church Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 7 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1059, 10th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1914: | Involvement Private, 1059, 10th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Ascanius embarkation_ship_number: A11 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Oct 1914: | Embarked Private, 1059, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ascanius, Adelaide | |
| 11 Nov 1918: | Involvement Sergeant, 1059 |
Help us honour Edwin Botten's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by St Dominic's Priory College
Edwin John Selby Charles Philip Woollet Botten was born on the 29th of December 1888 in North Adelaide, South Australia, where he grew up and later lived at East Pallant Street, Botten worked as a Hairdresser. He was 26 years old when he enlisted on the 7th of September 1914 as a Private. He was described in military record as single and a member of the Church of England. His next kin was his mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Botten, and his father was called Edwin Woollet Botten. He had at least 3 siblings; Florence Isabelle Botten Mounsey, Adah Zilah Botten Cooper and William Henry Treham Botten. Botten was recorded as being 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighing 151 pounds, with a 36-inch chest, dark complexion, grey eyes and dark hair. He embarked from Australia on the 20th of October 1914 with the 10th Infantry Battalion.
During World War 1, Botten served in multiple major theatres, including the Gallipoli and the Western Front, experiencing intense trench warfare and the realities of long exhausting fight with heavy losses. At the Gallipoli, between the 23-28th of May 1915. Botten was seriously wounded in the head and evacuated through a chain of medical care. Despite the severity of his injury, he soon recovered and rejoined his unit on the 5th of July 1915.
After the evacuation of Gallipoli, he continued to service in Egypt and was rapidly promoted, reaching the rank of Sergeant by May 1916. He later transferred to the 12th Machine Gun Company and later server with the 4th Australian Machine Gun Battalion
Botten proceeded to France in to fight on the Western Front from May 1916 until January 1917 when he was transferred to England. A couple of weeks later he was hospitalised for 120 days with an infection, but he returned to duty in France in June 1918. Botten was granted a special leave in September 1918, and returned to Australia, disembarking on the 25th of December 1918 after serving in the WW1 for 4 years and 67 days overseas.
After the war, Botten was formally discharged on the 25th of February 1919. He returned to South Australia and in 1921 married Fanny Pearl Brakenridge (1890-1978).
Botten died 25th of February 1967 in Daw Park, City of Mitcham, South Australia, at the age of 79. He is buried at the Centennial Park Cemetery in Pasadena, City of Mitcham, South Australia.