PEARCE, Oliver George
| Service Number: | 1428 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 33rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Wyacca, South Australia, 29 June 1896 |
| Home Town: | Narrandera, Narrandera, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Yarrah School - Flinders Ranges. South Australia |
| Occupation: | Farmer - Leading Hand |
| Died: | Killed in Action , Belgium, 13 October 1917, aged 21 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Oliver's name appears on the Menin Gate Memorial Belgium. Narrandera Cemetery - Methodist Monumental Section. Oliver George Pearce - his details added to family grave headstone by Mary Anna Pearce, Oliver's mother. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 25 Oct 1916: | Involvement Private, 1428, Light Trench Mortar Batteries, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '4' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Ascanius embarkation_ship_number: A11 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 25 Oct 1916: | Embarked Private, 1428, Light Trench Mortar Batteries, HMAT Ascanius, Sydney | |
| 13 Oct 1917: | Involvement Private, 1428, 33rd Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 1428 awm_unit: 33rd Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1917-10-13 |
Help us honour Oliver George Pearce's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Carolyn Pearce
Oliver George Pearce was the son of Charles Frederick Pearce & Mary Anna Hanschke. He was one of 10 children born on the family farm in Wyacca near Quorn in the South Australian Flinders Ranges. Oliver's childhood was a happy one, being involved in school, social and church events regularly and working on the farm alongside his father and siblings.
In 1911, when Oliver was 15 years old, the family farm was sold due to extreme drought and the Pearce's moved from Wyacca South Australia to 'Pine Vale' Farm Narrandera NSW.
Oliver was described by his father as an extremely capable farmer and his fathers' 'right hand man' on their wheat farm.
Oliver enlisted in the AIF at the Cootamundra Depot on 16 May 1916 aged 19.
After basic AIF training at Goulburn, Oliver was transferred to the Light Trench Mortar Battery in Menangle NSW before proceeding as to England as 3rd Reinforcements in October 1916 aboard HMAT 'Ascanius'.
In February 1917 Oliver transferred to B Company 33rd Battalion and marched out to the Western Front on May 5 1917. Oliver was involved in the Battle of Messines in June 1917 then in October 1917 was in the front lines of the 3rd Battle of Ypres / Battle of Passchendaele on the Western Front.
Whilst fighting in the front line trenches in Zonnebeke on 13 October 1917, Oliver was injured in the head and chest by shrapnel. Patched up by his mates and walking to the casualty clearing station for medical assistance, Oliver was killed instantly when a German shell landed 6 foot away. As fierce fighting continued, the location his grave was lost and never relocated.
Six weeks after his death, the news was broken to Olivers parents by their Methodist Church pastor Reverend Robbins who received a cable from the AIF Base Records Office advising Oliver had been Killed in Action.
The Pearce family held a Memorial Service in Oliver's memory at the Narrandera Methodist Church on Bolton Street on 16 December 1917 where those attending were given a black satin memorial ribbon with Olivers photograph as a keepsake of his gallantry and also supreme sacrifice.
The loss of his son hit Charles Pearce particularly hard as Oliver was leading hand on the farm and was relied on to assist in successful crop & harvest management to cover mortgage repayments. Details are noted in a letter written by Charles Pearce to AIF Base Records, Australian Defence Department Melbourne and attached to Olivers Attestation Papers.
Although Oliver's life was cut short, he lived his life to the fullest. He was a very much loved, capable young man looking for adventure and his enlistment in the AIF allowed him to see the world, in particular the United Kingdom where his father was born.
Oliver's war time diary and postcards also mention a day trip from the Ascanius to Sierra Leone enroute to England,visiting Stonehenge and Westminster Abbey and the highlight was seeing King George V when he reviewed the Australian troops who had 'fixed bayonets'
Descendents of the Pearce family continue to honor and remember Oliver.
Click images to start slideshow.