Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From Australian Remembrance Army

Private Oliver Arnold Parsons (Service No. 7189), an Australian World War One veteran, is among almost 800 previously unmarked WWI veterans’ graves in Lutwyche Cemetery we have now marked with a plaque recognising their service for Australia.

We unveiled his plaque in Lutwyche Cemetery on 20 September 2025, along with a further 161 plaques on the previously unmarked graves of Australian World War One veterans:
See Australian Remembrance Army Facebook page

Oliver Arnold Parsons was born on 7 June 1896 at Nanango, Queensland, to Oliver Augustus Parsons and Mary Emma Parsons (née Stegg). He worked as a bushman prior to the First World War and enlisted at Brisbane on 5 October 1917, at the age of 21. On 16 November 1917, he embarked for overseas service as a private with the 25th Infantry Battalion, departing Sydney aboard SS Canberra.

Parsons served on the Western Front in France, where in October 1918 he was wounded in action, sustaining gunshot wounds to both legs and the right hip. He was admitted to hospital for treatment and subsequently classified as an invalid. His service records document a series of hospital admissions and transfers during late 1918 and early 1919 as a consequence of these wounds and their after-effects. He returned to Australia in early 1919 and was formally discharged on 8 March 1919.

In 1919, Oliver was living at Nundah, Brisbane, and working as a labourer. He married Alexandra Corey Elizabeth Parsons in 1920, and the couple had three children. Their marriage was dissolved in October 1930, and in December 1930 he remarried Henrietta Keyes. By 1934, he was living at Banyo, Brisbane, and was again recorded as working as a labourer.
On 25 May 1939, Oliver, aged 42, was killed in a cycling accident near his home at Virginia, Brisbane. While riding to work at Sandgate at about 7.30 a.m., he collided with the front of a Brisbane-bound bus on Sandgate Road, within sight of his home. The bus had slowed to pick up passengers when the collision occurred. Oliver suffered severe head injuries and was pronounced dead when ambulance bearers arrived. At the time of his death, he was employed as a council worker at Sandgate. He was buried the following day in Monumental Portion COE2, Lutwyche Cemetery, Brisbane.

After decades without recognition at his place of burial, his grave now bears a plaque commemorating his service to Australia — ensuring his name endures among those remembered for their duty and sacrifice. His identity and dignity have now been restored.

We have remembered him.
Lest We Forget.