MATTHIES, Oscar John
| Service Number: | 903 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Trooper |
| Last Unit: | 8th Light Horse Regiment |
| Born: | Buln Buln, Victoria, Australia, 15 October 1890 |
| Home Town: | Leongatha, South Gippsland, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer's Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Gallipoli, Ottoman Empire, Gallipoli, Dardanelles, Turkey, 7 August 1915, aged 24 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" There is no known grave for Oscar. He is commemorated on the Lone Pine Memorial., Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli Peninsula, Canakkale Province, Turkey |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Leongatha Fallen Soldiers Honour Roll, Lone Pine Memorial to the Missing |
World War 1 Service
| 7 May 1915: | Involvement Private, 903, 8th Light Horse Regiment, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '2' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Palermo embarkation_ship_number: A56 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 7 May 1915: | Embarked Private, 903, 8th Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Palermo, Melbourne | |
| 7 Aug 1915: | Involvement Trooper, 903, 8th Light Horse Regiment, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 903 awm_unit: 8 Light Horse Regiment awm_rank: Trooper awm_died_date: 1915-08-07 |
Young Farmer killed in the Battle of the Nek on his second day in Gallipoli
My Great Uncle was Oscar Matthies , Trooper No. 903 in the 8th Light Horse Regiment. Oscar was a farm labourer from Leongatha in Victoria and he enlisted on 3 December, 1914 aged 24. He had fair curly hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion and in all probability he had never travelled far from the farm that he had grown up on. He was allotted to the 5th Reinforcement to the 8th Light Horse Regiment and left Australia on 7 May, 1915. He would not have known at this time that he had just over two months left to live. He arrived at Gallipoli on 5 August and was attached to B Squadron of the 8th Light Horse stationed on Walker’s Ridge. Preparations were being made for a major attack at the Nek and there could have been no more tragic initiation to war than that of Oscar’s. After one day settling into his unit his destiny was to take part in the ill-fated attack at dawn on August the 7th, 1915 now known as the Battle of the Nek. Oscar and most of his comrades were killed in action going out in the first line of 150 men in the charge at the Nek as were many of those in the next 3 waves. No-one will know how far Oscar got over the trench on that tragic day. His body lay on the battlefield in no man’s land until 1919, when the bodies were buried in the Nek Cemetery, where they fell. Oscar left his effects to his younger sisters, Alice and Mabel but Alice died before him in a drowning accident. As he was posted missing, believed killed, Mabel hoped for his return and kept the 40 or 60 pounds he had left her untouched for 15 years. Eventually, she used the money to buy a second hand piano but she didn’t rest until she had saved the money again. Oscar’s body was not identified & he is commemorated on the Lone Pine Memorial.
Submitted 23 March 2015 by Jennifer Wray
Biography
Oscar enlisted at Leongatha, Victoria. His next of kin was his mother, Mary Ann Collis. He was 24 years old when he enlisted. His brother Herb also fought at Gallipoli but he survived. His surname is mis-spelt on some honour rolls with only one 't' in Matthies.
My Great Uncle was Oscar Matthies , Trooper No. 903 in the 8th Light Horse Regiment. Oscar was a farm labourer from Leongatha in Victoria and he enlisted on 3 December, 1914 aged 24. He had fair curly hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion and in all probability he had never travelled far from the farm that he had grown up on. He was allotted to the 5th Reinforcement to the 8th Light Horse Regiment and left Australia on 7 May, 1915. He would not have known at this time that he had just over two months left to live. He arrived at Gallipoli on 5 August and was attached to B Squadron of the 8th Light Horse stationed on Walker’s Ridge. Preparations were being made for a major attack at the Nek and there could have been no more tragic initiation to war than that of Oscar’s. After one day settling into his unit his destiny was to take part in the ill-fated attack at dawn on August the 7th, 1915 now known as the Battle of the Nek. Oscar and most of his comrades were killed in action going out in the first line of 150 men in the charge at the Nek as were many of those in the next 3 waves. No-one will know how far Oscar got over the trench on that tragic day. His body lay on the battlefield in no man’s land until 1919, when the bodies were buried in the Nek Cemetery, where they fell. Oscar left his effects to his younger sisters, Alice and Mabel but Alice died before him in a drowning accident. As he was posted missing, believed killed, Mabel hoped for his return and kept the 40 or 60 pounds he had left her untouched for 15 years. Eventually, she used the money to buy a second hand piano but she didn’t rest until she had saved the money again. Oscar’s body was not identified & he is commemorated on the Lone Pine Memorial.
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