32207
USHER, Gordon Job
| Service Number: | 2435 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 September 1915, Enlisted in SA |
| Last Rank: | Company Sergeant Major |
| Last Unit: | 48th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Oakbank, South Australia, 14 March 1896 |
| Home Town: | Oakbank, Adelaide Hills, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Wheelwright |
| Died: | South Australia, 8 August 1975, aged 79 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Centennial Park Cemetery, South Australia Cremated on 11 August 1975. Commemorated with a plaque in the SA Garden of Remembrance. |
| Memorials: | Mount Barker High School Great War Honour Roll, Oakbank Old Scholars Roll of Honor, Woodside District of Onkaparinga Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Sep 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2435, 32nd Infantry Battalion, Enlisted in SA | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Mar 1916: | Involvement Private, 2435, 32nd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: RMS Mongolia embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 9 Mar 1916: | Embarked Private, 2435, 32nd Infantry Battalion, RMS Mongolia, Adelaide | |
| 19 Apr 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 48th Infantry Battalion, From 32nd Battalion | |
| 28 May 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 48th Infantry Battalion | |
| 26 Aug 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Sergeant, 48th Infantry Battalion | |
| 3 Sep 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Company Sergeant Major, 48th Infantry Battalion | |
| 11 Nov 1918: | Involvement 2435, 48th Infantry Battalion | |
| 20 Aug 1919: | Honoured Military Medal, Citation reads: For great gallantry and devotion to duty in the operations of the advance on Bellingless outposts of the Hindenburg line, September 18th 1918. CQMS Usher arranged the distribution and issue of rations and ammunition to his company prior to the attack. During the attack CQMS Usher went forward with his Company to find a "C "Company took part in an attack on the right sub-sector of our front, the arrangements had to be made hurriedly and under heavy shell fire. CQMS Usher regardless of his own safety supervised the carrying and detonating of bombs, and throughout the whole history of the Battalion CQMS Usher has stood out as a gallant and reliable man on all occasions. London Gazette on 20 August 1919, page 10586, position 61 Commonwealth of Australia Gazette on 11 December 1919, page 2373, position 129 | |
| 2 Nov 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Company Sergeant Major, 2435, 48th Infantry Battalion, Discharged at the 4th Military District |
Gordon Job Usher
Name: Gordon Job Usher
Service Number: 2435
Place of Birth: Oakbank
Date of Birth: 14 March 1896
Place of Enlistment: Adelaide
Date of Enlistment: 20 September 1915
Age at Enlistment: 19 years 6 months
Next of Kin: Mother, Maria Paulina Usher
Occupation: Wheelwright
Religion: Methodist
Rank: Sergeant
Gordon left Australia on 16 March 1916 and after a short period of service at Serapeum in Alexandria went to France with the 48th Battalion on 4 June. He was admitted to hospital on 15 June with a gastric ulcer and rejoined his unit on 25 July. Gordon was promoted to the rank of Sergeant on 28 June 1917. During fighting in France he was recommended for the Meritorious Service Medal and was awarded the Military Medal for “gallantry on the Hindenberg Line.”
Upon the cessation of hostilities Gordon was still serving in France. Prior to returning home he was admitted to the Australian General Hospital at Sutton Veny, England on 3 May 1919, seriously ill with reoccurrence of the gastric ulcer that had plagued him since 1916. Gordon left England on the Canberra on 12 August, arrived home in Australia on 9 September and was discharged on 2 November.
Submitted 26 October 2023 by christopher collins
Biography contributed by Kathleen Bambridge
He was awarded his Military Medal by General Birdwood (UK) while he was visiting Adelaide on 6 March 1920.
Biography contributed by Carol Foster
Son of Henry Usher and Maria Pauline Usher nee Mattner of Oakbank, SA
Commenced return to Australia on 23 July 1919 aboard HT Canberra disembarking on 9 September 1919
Medals: Military Medal, British War Medal, Victory Medal
On 26 September 1922 Gordon married Daisy Alice Chapman in St Cuthberts Church, Prospect, SA.