23090
FLAVEL, Oscar Amos
| Service Number: | 2574 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 3 February 1916, Enlisted at Adelaide |
| Last Rank: | Driver |
| Last Unit: | 15th Light Horse Regiment |
| Born: | Tarcowie, South Australia, 19 August 1881 |
| Home Town: | Kingston South East, Kingston, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Tailem Bend, South Australia, 25 February 1959, aged 77 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Murray Bridge (Adelaide Road) Cemetery, S.A. RSL Burial Section, Site 58 Burial order number 2496. Oscar was buried on the 26 February 1959 with Re. J. Love officiated |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 3 Feb 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2574, 9th Light Horse Regiment, Enlisted at Adelaide | |
|---|---|---|
| 23 Jun 1916: | Involvement Private, 2574, 9th Light Horse Regiment, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '2' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Katuna embarkation_ship_number: A13 public_note: '' | |
| 23 Jun 1916: | Embarked Private, 2574, 9th Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Katuna, Adelaide | |
| 11 Nov 1918: | Involvement Driver, 2574, 15th Light Horse Regiment | |
| 7 Oct 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Driver, 2574, 15th Light Horse Regiment, Discharged 4 Military District | |
| Date unknown: | Wounded 2574 |
Help us honour Oscar Amos Flavel's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Carol Foster
Son of John Flavel and Elizabeth Ann (nee Smith) Flavel; brother of Dinah Flavel, Elizabeth Ann Flavel, May Flavel, Frank Flavel, Mary Bayes Flavel and Daisy Blanche Flavel
Husband of Clara Rosina (nee Lamont) Flavel of Kingston,SE, SA. Oscar and Clara married in Naracoorte on 8 September 1905 at the residence of A.S. Me;drum
Father of Ella Rosina Flavel, Eileen Harriett Eliza Flavel, Doreen Lynda Flavel, Annie Bernice Flavel and Adeline May Flavel
27 December 1917 - to hospital with Diptheria
26 July 1919 - commenced return to Australia on board HT Dongola disembarking on 23 August 1919
Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal
Biography contributed by St Ignatius' College
Oscar was born on the 19th of August 1881 in Tarcowie, a rural town in South Australia, however he grew up in Kingstont. He was son to John Flavel and Elizabeth Ann, as well as sibling to Dinah Flavel, Elizabeth Ann Flavel, May Flavel, Frank Flavel, Mary Bayes Flavel and Daisy Blanche Flavel. A member of the Church of England, he married Clara Rosina, who was also next of kin when he enlisted in Naracoorte on the 8th of September 1905. He was father to Ella Rosina Flavel, Eileen Harriett Eliza Flavel, Doreen Lynda Flavel, Annie Bernice Flavel and Adeline May Flavel, however it is unclear which he had before and after the war. Oscar’s occupation was a Labourer
Oscar enlisted on the 3rd of February 1916 in Adelaide at the age of 36 and a half and was assigned to the 9th Light Horse Regiment. He left Adelaide on the HMAT A13 Katuna 23 June 1916 before arriving at Mo’ascar Isolation camp near the Suez Canal in Egypt on 10th of September 1916.
He was transferred to the 3rd Light Horse Regiment 2 days upon arrival and was then detached to the Imperial Camel Corps (ICC) in Mo’ascar on 1/9/1916. The ICC were formed mainly to help ‘deal with the revolt of pro-Turkish Senussi tribesmen in Egypt's Western Desert’ (Virtual War Memorial). From there, he was attached to the 3rd ANZAC Battalion, which was a battalion of the ICC, on the 11th of November 1916 where Oscar would spend the next year fighting for the camel brigade. When he was part of this unit, he fought in the Battle of Maghdaba in late 1916, the Battle of Rafa on the 9th of January the next year as well as the Battles of Gaza.
The build up to the Battle of Rafa was great, taking 8 days before the actual attack. On the 8th of January, Oscar’s unit joined the ANZAC Mounted Division and started their route towards Rafa. Gunfire started at 8.40am as the Turks were manning their trenches. This Battalion was held in reserve while the other battalions fought. The Turks had well-prepared trenches on higher ground. An attack at 4.32pm was a success and position was captured around 5pm by other battalions. 5 Turkish officers and 219 soldiers were captured. By 6.30pm, a general retirement was ordered and the battalions marched back. Oscar’s battalion had 4 soldiers killed, 2 died from wounds and 13 were wounded.
On the 27th of March 1917, there was a minor battle involving Oscar’s unit, where they engaged in an altercation with enemy forces. Casualties included the death of Captain Rae, and four other ranks were wounded. The brigade then marched onto El Ballah and resumed normal duties.
On the 19th of April 1917, Oscar’s unit was involved in the second battle of Gaza. At 5.00am, the battalion moved towards Sheikh Abbas Ridge and dismounted from the camels, which were then taken back to El`Arish. The 3rd Battalion occupied the high ground at El Sharia so they could block enemy troop movements. They advanced at 7.30am after two hours of bombardment from enemy artillery, whilst companies moved in to support and came under heavy artillery fire, however continued to battle. The battle then grew more intense, and at 9.00pm the battalion was fully withdrawn and marched back to Sheikah Abbas Ridge, with the camels in-waiting.
After the attack, the battalion spent the days from the 20th of April to 1917 all the way to the 19th of May digging trenches, and they ‘worked incessantly-wiring, digging trenches and preparing the position against any possible attack’, (War Unit Diaries, April-May 1917). From May onwards it is unclear what the unit did, but it can be assumed that they were in continuing conflict with Turkish forces around Palestine and Gaza.
When they weren’t fighting, the 3rd ANZAC Battalion spent time around El` Arish. El` Arish was located on the Sinai Peninsula and was used as a military base for the ICC and the ANZAC Mounted Division after it was abandoned by the Turkish forces. The unit would use it to practise skills such as gun-work, parading and attack practise. During this time when the unit was at camp it was not uncommon for enemy planes to make an appearance, however without much threat. Oscar was admitted into hospital on the 23rd of November in 1917 however the reason of his admission is unknown. He got out on the 25th of November and was sent to the casualty clearing station in Gaza, which is a military medical facility.
The next year brought change for Oscar, after the ICC disbanded in June 1918. He spent time in different units including the 3rd and 7th Light Horse Regiment but never spent longer than 3 months with the same division. He was admitted to hospital 3 times during 1918 with sickness
He departed Egypt for Australia on the 22nd of January 1919 arriving a month later on the 27th of February. Oscar died on the 25th of February 1959 in Tailem Bend, aged 77. He was buried at Murray Bridge Cemetery.
Reference List
Websites
Abbreviations used in First World War and Second World War service records | naa.gov.au 2024, Naa.gov.au, viewed 22 September 2025, <https://www.naa.gov.au/explore-collection/defence-and-war-service-records/researching-war-service/abbreviations-used-first-world-war-and-second-world-war-service-records>.
Australian war memorial 2025, | The Australian War Memorial, www.awm.gov.au, viewed 22 September 2025, <https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/E84346>.
AWM4 Subclass 11/8 - 3rd ANZAC Battalion, Imperial Camel Corps 2025, Awm.gov.au, viewed 22 September 2025, <https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1338858>.
"Cameliers and camels at war". New Zealand History online. History Group of the New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 30 August 2009. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
El Arish, Sinai Peninsula 2025, Awm.gov.au, viewed 21 September 2025, <https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C176535>.
Falls 1930 Vol. 1 pp. 245–6
"Imperial Camel Corps". First World War, 1914–1918 units. Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
Keogh 1955, p. 56
Kress von Kressenstein 1938, pp. 207–8
Oscar Amos FLAVEL 2025, Vwma.org.au, viewed 12 September 2025, <https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/348946>.
Powles 1922, p. 46
Terrace, V 2025, View digital copy, Naa.gov.au, viewed 22 September 2025, <https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3911551&S=1>.
Images
Bucknall Steamship Lines 2017, File HMAT A13 Katuna, viewed 22 September 2025, <https://birtwistlewiki.com.au/wiki/File:HMAT_A13_Katuna.jpg>.
Crown Copyright 2006, The Advance of the Australian 9th Light Horse Regiment (3rd Light Horse Brigade) at Battle of Magdhaba, 23 December 1916., Australian Government, viewed 22 September 2025, <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:9th_Light_Horse_Regiment_Magdhaba.jpg>.
Falls, C & MacMunn, G 2016, ‘Second Battle of Gaza: The Battlefield’, Volume 1, Map 13, The outbreak of war with Germany to June 1917, viewed 22 September 2025, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Gaza#/media/File:Map13SecondGaza.tif>.
Longstaff, W 1918, El Arish, Sinai Peninsula, viewed 22 September 2025, <https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C176535#:~:text=The%20bleached%20arid%20landscape%20extends,their%20offensive%20into%20southern%20Palestine.>.
National Archives of Australia 1916, Attestation Paper of Persons Enlisted for Service Abroad, NAA, viewed 22 September 2025, <https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3911551&S=1>.
The Isolation Camp at Moascar, the Site of the Training Area for the 1st and 2nd Australian and ... 1916, Australian War Memorial, viewed 22 September 2025, <https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1789>.