Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Stephen was the son of George OATLEY & Jane HENDERSON nee CURVILL and was born on the 11th of May 1887 in Mount Torrens, SA.

His parents were married on the 13th of May 1874 in the Registry Office, Adelaide, SA.

His father was the son of George Edward OATLEY & Mary Anne HINSON and was born in 1839 in Melksham, Wiltshire, England.
His mother was the daughter of William CURVILL & Mary Ellen SEXTON and was born in 1852 in Wiltshire, England.

Stephen was the sixth child born into this family of 8 children.

His father had arrived in South Australia as a labourer on board the Nuggett on the 3rd of April 1858.

His father was a labourer and the family lived in Mount Torrens.
When Stephen was 2 years old the family moved to Chief Street, Brompton.
On leaving school Stephen became a horse driver and groom and the family moved to Drayton Street, Bowden.

They then moved to 10th Street, Bowden in 1908 and in January 1912 Stephen was admitted into the Adelaide Hospital for 29 days suffering from Renal Calculus.

His father died on the 2nd of February 1913 and they buried him in the Hindmarsh Cemetery.
In September the same years Stephen was admitted into the Adelaide Hospital for 11 days, suffering from a Ventral Hernia.

By 1915 the family had moved to 25 Drayton Street, Bowden.

At the age of 28, Stephen enlist into the AIF on the 24th of June 1915 in Keswick and was allotted the service number 2409 and posted to K Group, Base Infantry.
On the 16th of July he was transferred to 27th Battalion, 5th Reinforcements at Mitcham Camp.

His brother Henry enlisted into the 12th Battalion on the 23rd of July 1915 (3282).

Stephen embarked from Adelaide on board HMAT A32 Themistocles on the 13th of October 1915 and Henry embarked from Adelaide on board HMAT A24 Benalla on the 27th of October and later served with the 50th Battalion.

Stephen served in Egypt and then proceeded to France where he served for 2 month before he was wounded and invalided back to England.
Stephen embarked from England on the 23rd of May 1917 on board HT Ayrshire, disembarked in Melbourne on the 17th of July 1917 and entrained to Adelaide.

He was discharged, medically unfit, from the AIF on the 20th of August 1917 and was granted a War Pension of 15/- per fortnight.

The next 25 years of Stephens’s life has proved extremely difficult to discover and then on the 23rd of September 1942 he writes a letter to the AIF Records Office in Canberra stating he has lost his discharge papers and badge.
Stephen states that he lost these items on the 19th of February 1942 on Enemy Action in Darwin.

At the time of writing the letter he was living at 164 Bourke Street, East Sydney, and was a labourer.

As no record of Stephen serving in WW2 can be found it is possible that he was living in Darwin and lost his items on the day that the Japanese bombed Darwin.

By 1949 Stephen had moved to Clarinda Street, Parkes and was unemployed.

Stephen then moved back to South Australia and was living at 83 Days Road, Croydon Park, with Mr. H.W. ENGEL and was now a pensioner.

In March 1953 he was living in the Myrtle Bank Soldiers Home.

Stephen died on the 18th of May 1964 and was buried 3 days later in the Hindmarsh Cemetery; Section Eastern, J10 2.

Military

At the age of 28, Stephen enlist into the AIF on the 24th of June 1915 in Keswick and was allotted the service number 2409 and posted to K Group, Base Infantry.
He listed his mother, of Drayton Street, Bowden, as his next of kin.

On the 16th of July he was transferred to 27th Battalion, 5th Reinforcements at Mitcham Camp.

Stephen embarked from Adelaide on board HMAT A32 Themistocles on the 13th of October 1915, disembarked in Alexandria and marched into Tel-el-Kebir Camp for further training.
Whilst he was in training the 27th Battalion was withdrawn from Gallipoli on the 18th of December and sailed to Lemnos Island.
On the 10th of January 1916 the 27th Battalion, together with the 23rd and 24th disembarked from the transport Minnewaska in Alexandria and marched into Tel-el-Kebir Camp.

Two days later Stephen was taken on strength with the 27th Battalion and they continued training.
On the 3rd of February they entrained and proceeded to Ismailia, where the Suez Canal was crossed by pontoon bridges. Here they took up a new position on the Asiatic shore.

Defensive positions were at once commenced, both at the canal and in the desert about ten miles inland.
Most of their time was taken up in digging and fortifying trenches and supplying outposts, but as much training as possible was carried out.

Stephen suffered from Synovitis to his right knee on the 18th of February and was admitted into the 7th Australian Field Ambulance in Ismailia for 4 days before rejoining his Battalion.

On the 5th of March they re-crossed the canal and marched to Moascar, where preparations were commenced for their move to France.
They occupied the lines of a New Zealand unit which had taken over the duties they had held on the other side of the canal.
They were inspected by General Birdwood, who gave them valuable advice as to the new conditions they would experience in France.

A week later, on the 13th of March, Stephen was classified unfit for duty as the Synovitis had flared again and was admitted into the New Zealand Field Ambulance.
The following day he was transferred to the 1st Australian Stationary Hospital in Ismailia for 9 days and then transferred to the 3rd Australia Auxiliary Hospital in Heliopolis on the 23rd.

A few days later he was transferred to the British Red Cross Hospital in Montazah where he remained until he was discharged to a Base Depot on the 15rh of April.
Stephen proceeded to France on the 15th of August and marched into the 2nd ADBD (Australian Division Base Depot) in Etaples.
He rejoined his Battalion on the 28th of August in the front line at La Boiselle, near the Bapaume Road.

It was cold and wet here and the trenches were knee-deep in mud and water. Here they were engaged in improving the condition of the trenches, but consistent rain made the task a heart-breaking job.
During their occupation of this position, determined efforts were being made on their left to capture Mouquet Farm and the enemy kept up a consistent shelling of their support and reserve lines, thereby hampering the operations considerably.

On September 1st they were relieved by the 1st Battalion of Canadians and they marched back very slowly to Albert with a large percentage of cramped and frozen feet.
The following morning they marched to Warloy and then onto Harponville where they paraded for General Birdwood, who made a presentation of medals.
They then moved to Amplier and Athieule where they were entrained to Godewaersvelde.
On the 6th of September they marched to Reninghelst and 2 days later they moved to Steenvoorde where they commenced training, special attention being given to tactical exercises in defence and assault.

Ten days later they held a big sports program and all the units of the Brigade came to criticize and admire them.
On the 5th of October they entrained for Ypres and relieved the 19th Battalion due south of Zillebeke, covering the trench system of Hill 60 and Mount Sorrell.
This was their first visit to this part of the long battle line.

Here they were engaged in the repair and reconstruction of the trenches and they patrolled No Man’s Land each night.
After their turn in the front line they moved back into billets in the barracks of Ypres until the 16th of October when they handed over to the 10th Northumberland Fusiliers and entrained to a point near the Ypres - Poperinghe Road. They then marched to St. Lawrence Camp, where they occupied wooden huts for 3 days.
Under wintry conditions they marched to Steenvoorde, passing through Poperinghe and Abeele.

On the 21st they arrived at Buysscheure and next day moved to Mouile, where they billeted for 2 days, after which they entrained from Arques for Yaucourt-Bussus.
Four days later they marched cold and wet and passing through Ailly they reached a point on the Amiens Road where they boarded motor lorries, which conveyed them to billets in Dernancourt.

Wretched weather conditions prevailed, the result of heavy rains, which in this year were almost unprecedented in their intensity. The whole of the Somme area was one huge quagmire. Identification of tracks, and even second-class roads, became extremely difficult and the freshly-dug front trenches were deplorable.

They left Dernancourt on November 2nd and marched to Montauban Camp, on the north side of the Montauban-Mametz road, in a veritable mud-hole.
The next day they moved forward to Switch Trench, near High Wood and relieved the 53rd Battalion in the front line.

On the 5th of November, tired but determined to test the fighting qualities of the enemy, they made their attack on Bayonet & Maze Trench.
The trenches were in a deplorable condition, the sides falling in from time to time and the earth became churned up practicality knee deep.
The ground they crossed was ploughed up by shell fire with the extra large shell-holes being half-filled with water.
They were met immediately with a withering fire from the enemy strong points and as the attack took place during daylight, the enemy gunners and snipers were able to use their weapons with deadly effect.

The sniping qualities of the enemy proved fearful and many of the men being so effectively covered, remained in shell-holes until nightfall.
When darkness set in they made their way back to their lines, and despite the consistency of enemy machine gun fire, the work of rescuing their wounded was carried on until dawn.

The following evening they were relieved by the 17th Battalion and moved back to Montauban Camp on the 7th of November.
The 27th Battalion’s casualties were found to be extremely heavy and their roll call revealed 77 killed, 141 wounded and 150 missing, with 25 prisoners captured.

A medical inspection revealed that that 90 per cent of the men were suffering from cramp and trench feet, with the worst cases being evacuated to hospital.
At Montauban Canp they were engaged in fatigue work near Longueval and the following day, November 8th, Stephen suffered a Gun Shot Wound to his left are and was admitted into the 7th Australian Field Ambulance and transferred to the 38th Casualty Clearing Station at Heilly.
The next day he was transferred by Ambulance Train and admitted into the 10th General Hospital in Rouen.

Ten days later Stephen was invalided to England and admitted into the 4th Southern General in Plymouth, dangerously ill.
Stephen spent nearly 2 months here, including Christmas 1916, before he was well enough to be transferred to the 1st Australian Auxiliary Hospital in Harefield on the 16th of January 1917.
He spent nearly 4 months here before he was discharged to No.2 Command Depot in Weymouth on the 8th of May.

Stephen embarked from England on the 23rd of May 1917 on board HT Ayrshire.
He disembarked in Melbourne on the 17th of July 1917 and entrained to Adelaide.

Stephen was discharged, medically unfit, from the AIF on the 20th of August 1917 and awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War & Victory Medals.

He was granted a War Pension of 15/- per fortnight until the 28th of March 1918.