SLEEP, Joseph Theodore
| Service Number: | 6581 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 15 July 1916, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 5th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Moonta Mines, South Australia, 30 May 1900 |
| Home Town: | Moonta, Copper Coast, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Moonta Mines Public School, South Australia |
| Occupation: | Labourer/Tinsmith |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 10 May 1917, aged 16 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Moonta Corporation of The Town of Moonta Roll of Honour, Moonta Mines Public School Roll of Honour WW1, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 15 Jul 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 6581, Melbourne, Victoria | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Oct 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 6581, 5th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '8' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Nestor embarkation_ship_number: A71 public_note: '' | |
| 2 Oct 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 6581, 5th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Nestor, Melbourne | |
| 10 May 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 6581, 5th Infantry Battalion, Bullecourt (Second) |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Cheryl Hutchins
"...6581 Private Joseph Theodore Sleep. A labourer from Moonta Mines, SA prior to enlistment, Pte Sleep embarked with the 21st Reinforcements, 5th Battalion from Melbourne on HMAT Nestor on 2 October 1916. On 10 May 1917 he was killed in action in France and having no known grave, is commemorated on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial. It was later revealed that he was aged 17 at the time..." - SOURCE (www.awm.gov.au)
Burra Record 30 May 1917
Miss Sleep of Kooringa was notified yesterday that their nephew, Private Theodore Sleep has been killed in action in France on May 10. The deceased at one time attended the Burra School, he would have been 17 years old tomorrow.
National Archives
He gave his age as 19 years and 1 month but, he was 16 years and 2 months, claimed both parents were dead, mother was, but father was alive and living in New Zealand.
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