POWELL, Norman Sydney
| Service Number: | 6811 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Leichhardt, New South Wales, Australia , 15 June 1898 |
| Home Town: | Marrickville, Marrickville, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 17 September 1917, aged 19 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Menin Gate Memorial (Commonwealth Memorial to the Missing of the Ypres Salient) |
World War 1 Service
| 8 Nov 1916: | Involvement Private, 6811, 2nd Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: SS Port Nicholson embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Nov 1916: | Embarked Private, 6811, 2nd Infantry Battalion, SS Port Nicholson, Sydney |
Help us honour Norman Sydney Powell's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Nathan Jackson
In 1915, at age 17, Norman Sydney Powell enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force. On his enlistment form he gave his age as 21 and a half. After training he returned home and did not rejoin his unit.
His father wrote to the War Office saying he had not allowed his son to return, and requested he be discharged because he was underage and had enlisted without permission.
A year later, Norman Sydney Powell enlisted again, still claiming to be over 21. This time he was sent to France. The following year, 1917, at only 19 years of age, he was killed in action in Belgium.
His mother requested the following inscription for his memorial, but was told it was too long:
"Could I his mother have clasped his hand, and bade him a last farewell, it would not have been so hard to part with my boy I loved so well."