SHERAR, Roderick Oliver
| Service Number: | 1504 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 19 November 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Second Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | Australian Flying Corps (AFC) |
| Born: | Prahran, Victoria, Australia, January 1895 |
| Home Town: | Prahran, Stonnington, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Student |
| Died: | Accidental (Injuries) - Aeroplane crash, near Lilbourne, Northamptonshire, England, 11 May 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
Clifton-on-Dunsmore (St. Mary) Additional Churchyard |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 19 Nov 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1504, 1st Australian Clearing Hospital | |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Dec 1914: | Involvement Private, 1504, 1st Australian Clearing Hospital, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '24' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Kyarra embarkation_ship_number: A55 public_note: '' | |
| 5 Dec 1914: | Embarked Private, 1504, 1st Australian Clearing Hospital, HMAT Kyarra, Melbourne | |
| 18 Mar 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 12th Field Ambulance | |
| 17 Mar 1917: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 4th Division Headquarters | |
| 12 May 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Driver, 4th Division Headquarters | |
| 31 Mar 1918: | Transferred AIF WW1, Australian Flying Corps (AFC) | |
| 4 Apr 1918: | Promoted AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, Australian Flying Corps (AFC) | |
| 11 May 1918: | Involvement Second Lieutenant, Australian Flying Corps (AFC), --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: awm_unit: Australian Flying Corps awm_rank: Second Lieutenant awm_died_date: 1918-05-11 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
The summary below was completed by Cathy Sedgwick – Facebook “WW1 Australian War Graves in England/UK
Died on this date - 10th May.......Roderick Oliver Sherar was born at Stony Creek, Gippsland, Victoria in 1895. He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.) on 19th November, 1914 as a 20 year old, single, Student Theological (occupation listed as Cabinet Maker on information supplied for the Roll of Honour by his mother) from Prahran, Victoria.
Private Sherar embarked from Melbourne, Victoria on 5th December, 1914 with the 1st Australian Clearing Hospital. He arrived at Gallipoli on 2nd March, 1915.
Private Sherar was admitted to 15th General Hospital at Alexandria on 9th June, 1915 with Scarlet Fever. He recovered & was transferred to 12th Field Ambulance at Tel-el-Kebir on 18th March, 1916 as part of his duties. Private Sherar was admitted to Hospital at Serapeum on 4th April, 1916 & discharged on 7th April, 1916.
Private Sherar arrived in France on 11th June, 1916. He was admitted to Hospital while on leave to England (no date recorded) & discharged on 3rd January, 1917. He arrived back in France on 13th January, 1917 & rejoined his Unit on 26th January, 1917.
Private Sherar was transferred to Army Service Corps as Driver on 7th March, 1917.
Driver Sherar proceeded from France on 24th September, 1917 to join A.F.C. (Australian Flying Corps). He was admitted to Hospital on 5th October, 1917 & discharged after a Tonsillectomy on 24th October, 1917 then granted leave.
Roderick Oliver Sherar was transferred to A.F.C. (Australian Flying Corps) Training Depot as 2nd A.M. (Air Mechanic) on 2nd November, 1917. He joined the No. 1 R.F.C. (Royal Flying Corps) School of Military Aeronautics at Reading, England on 2nd November, 1917 & was appointed Cadet. He was appointed Flying Officer (Pilot) & was to be 2nd Lieutenant in A.I.F. on 24th April, 1918.
On 11th May, 1918 Second Lieutenant Roderick Oliver Sherar was flying a Sop Camel – B 9242 solo. He took off at around 2 pm to practice aerobatics & at about 2.15 pm the Sop Camel crashed to the ground near Lilbourne.
Second Lieutenant Roderick Oliver Sherar died on 11th May, 1918 near Lilbourne, Northamptonshire, England as a result of an aeroplane accident.
Newspaper item – Coventry Evening Telegraph, England – 14 May, 1918: …….In a second inquest, relating to the death of Second-Lieutenant Rhoderick Oliver Sherar, an Australia, who had seen service with the infantry in France, it was stated that deceased, who was a very fine pilot, was looping and rolling at a height of 2,000 feet, and apparently did not realise that he was losing height as he continued the evolutions, with the result that he commenced a spin when too near the ground, and crashed. His neck was broken, and death was instantaneous. A verdict of “Accidental death” was returned in each case.
Second Lieutenant Roderick Oliver Sherar was buried in St. Mary’s Additional Churchyard, Clifton-on-Dunsmore, Warwickshire, England.
(The above is a summary of my research. The full research can be found by following the link below)
https://ww1austburialsuk.weebly.com/clifton-on-dunsmore.html
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