OSBORNE, Bertram William
Service Numbers: | 2560, 2520 |
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Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
Last Rank: | Private |
Last Unit: | 50th Infantry Battalion |
Born: | Not yet discovered |
Home Town: | Balhannah, Adelaide Hills, South Australia |
Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
Died: | Prisoner of War, France, 9 April 1917, age not yet discovered |
Cemetery: |
Valenciennes (St. Roch) Communal Cemetery St Roch Communal Cemetery, Valenciennes, Nord Pas de Calais, France |
Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Balhannah Soldiers' Memorial Honor Roll, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, Glandore State Wards & Orphans Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
21 Sep 1916: | Involvement Private, 2560, 50th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '19' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Commonwealth embarkation_ship_number: A73 public_note: '' | |
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21 Sep 1916: | Embarked Private, 2560, 50th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Commonwealth, Adelaide | |
9 Apr 1917: | Involvement Private, 2520, 50th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 2520 awm_unit: 50 Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1917-04-09 |
Bertram William Osborne
Name: Bertram William Osborne
Service Number: 2520
Place of Birth: Adelaide
Date of Birth: not available
Place of Enlistment: Adelaide
Date of Enlistment: 22 June 1916
Age at Enlistment: 18 years
Next of Kin: Friend, Harry Weston
Occupation: Labourer
Religion: Church of England
Rank: Private
Bertram sailed from Sydney with the 50th Battalion on the Commonwealth on 19 September 1916, disembarking at Plymouth on 14 November and proceeded to France on 12 December. He was reported missing in action on 2 April 1917, then pronounced killed in action. Bertram was actually wounded sustaining a grenade splinter in the lower thigh and became a prisoner of war at Noreuil. He was reported as “died while prisoner of war in German hands in Valenciennes, France - buried at Military Cemetery Valenciennes grave no. 162 in collective grave coffin. Verified German Army 12 March 1918.” {NAA Service Record}
Private W.R. Langford of the 50th Battalion stated, ”At Valenciennes Hospital Osborne died of wounds owing to bad medical treatment.” Harry Weston received Bertram’s Memorial Plaque, photograph of grave site, Memorial Scroll, Victory Medal and British War Medal in the period covering January 1923 and December 1924.
In the Red Cross Society Wounded and Missing, File 1DRL/ 0428 Private E.McMullen of the 50th Battalion states that Private Bertram Osborne, “was taken prisoner of war at Noreuil on 2nd April 1917 was wounded in leg by shell. Was taken back to Dressing Station and leg was amputated 3 days later at main hospital at Valenciennes. I was with him when he died, was conscious, said he was done for... he died about 8 o’clock in the morning, was taken out of the ward by a French man and two Russians in a rough coffin. I have not seen his grave.”
Submitted 23 October 2023 by christopher collins