CROZIER, Sydney James
| Service Number: | 759 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 12 January 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Trooper |
| Last Unit: | 6th Light Horse Regiment |
| Born: | Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia, November 1884 |
| Home Town: | Culcairn, Greater Hume Shire, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | State School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Farm Hand |
| Died: | Died of wounds whilst a prisoner of war, Amman, Jordan, 29 March 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Reportedly buried near Amman railway siding, Jordan. Remains never recovered. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, Basra Memorial, Culcairn & District Great War Roll of Honor, Culcairn War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 12 Jan 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Trooper, 759, 12th Light Horse Regiment | |
|---|---|---|
| 25 Jun 1915: | Involvement Private, 759, 12th Light Horse Regiment, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '3' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Ceramic embarkation_ship_number: A40 public_note: '' | |
| 25 Jun 1915: | Embarked Private, 759, 12th Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Ceramic, Sydney | |
| 2 Oct 1915: | Transferred AIF WW1, Trooper, 6th Light Horse Regiment, Gallipoli | |
| 4 Aug 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Trooper, 759, 6th Light Horse Regiment, Battle of Romani | |
| 31 Oct 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Trooper, 759, 6th Light Horse Regiment, Battle of Beersheba | |
| 28 Mar 1918: | Wounded AIF WW1, Trooper, 759, 6th Light Horse Regiment, Amman Raid (First), GSW (severe). Captured by Turks following the Amman raid and died of wounds 29 March 1918. Reportedly buried beside the railway tracks at Amman station. | |
| 29 Mar 1918: | Involvement Trooper, 759, 6th Light Horse Regiment, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 759 awm_unit: 6 Light Horse Regiment awm_rank: Trooper awm_died_date: 1918-03-29 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Robert Wight
759 Private Sydney James Crozier, was a 20 year old farm hand at Culcairn, NSW, when he enlisted in the AIF on 12 January 1915. After training in Australia he sailed for overseas service with the 1st Reinforcements to 12 Light Horse Regiment, aboard HMAT A40 Ceramic on 25 June 1915. Crozier saw service on Gallipoli and after this campaign, transferred to B Troop of B Squadron in 6 Light Horse Regiment. In this regiment he fought at Romani in 1916, where his brother, 930 Private Richard Walter Crozier was killed, and the three battles for Gaza in 1917.
Crozier was captured by the Turks on 28 March 1918 during the raid on Amman in the Transjordan. B Squadron was dismounted and ordered to advance about a mile, over fairly open country in the face of heavy Turkish machine gun fire. Many men were wounded and by the time the order was given to fix bayonets and go on, few were left standing. None of the men reached the objective and the 12 survivors, of whom 10 were badly wounded, were taken prisoner by the Turks and placed on a train near Amman. Three, including Crozier, died during the night and were buried in unmarked graves beside the railway track near Amman station.
One witness said that while Crozier was on the ground wounded a Turk had driven a bayonet between his shoulders. Despite this a fellow prisoner, Trooper Gannon, also from B Squadron, wrote 'I saw Crozier brought in [to the train]. He was very severely wounded. I thought he was dying. The Turks injected morphia, which I knew prevented him from suffering pain...I desire to emphasise that although his wounds were severe, the Turks treated him kindly and I know his end was painless.
Source: AWM
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