KELSO, Cyril
| Service Number: | 9931 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Gunner |
| Last Unit: | 2nd Field Artillery Brigade |
| Born: | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 9 October 1897 |
| Home Town: | Picton, Wollondilly, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Railway "Call Boy" |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 3 November 1916, aged 19 years |
| Cemetery: |
Bulls Road Cemetery, Flers |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Picton and District Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 17 Dec 1915: | Involvement Gunner, 9931, 1st Field Artillery Brigade, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '3' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Berrima embarkation_ship_number: A35 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 17 Dec 1915: | Embarked Gunner, 9931, 1st Field Artillery Brigade, HMAT Berrima, Sydney | |
| 3 Nov 1916: | Involvement Gunner, 9931, 2nd Field Artillery Brigade , --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 9931 awm_unit: 2 Field Artillery Brigade awm_rank: Gunner awm_died_date: 1916-11-03 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by John Oakes
Cyril KELSO (Service Number 9931) was born in Sydney on 9th October 1897. In August 1914 he joined the NSW Government Railways as a call boy at Picton locomotive depot.
He claimed four years’ experience in the Militia when he enlisted in the AIF at Victoria Barracks with his parents’ consent, aged 18. He:
‘showed he was made of the right material and was determined to do his share for the Empire, for after failing to pass on two occasions he heard that men were required for a remount unit and on the 13 October 1915, he offered his services for that and was accepted. After about a week in camp he was recommended for the artillery and passed. He sailed on 17 December with the 13th Reinforcements to the 1st Field Artillery Brigade…’: Picton Post, 6/12/1916.
He spent two weeks in hospital in Egypt in February 1916. He was transferred to the 21st Howitzer Brigade and sent to France at the end of March. He spent two months with the Divisional Ammunition Column, then in July he was transferred to the 2nd Field Artillery Brigade and ‘taken on strength’.
On 3rd November 1916, aged 19, he was killed in action. A shell fell, killing him and one or two others instantly. He was buried near where he died, on the sunken road at Flers, ¼ mile NW of the village and about 3¾ miles NW of Combles. After the war his remains were exhumed and re-interred in Bull’s Road Military Cemetery (Flers), eight miles ENE of Albert.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Statioin Honour Board.