Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

HENRY OSWALD CALDICOTT
Henry Oswald Caldicott, known as “Os”, was born on the 9th of February 1889 at Forest Range. Caldicott’s occupation as a civilian was that of a gardener. As a young man he played football, tennis and cricket. He was a competent musician, playing the mouth organ and accordion. { J.Bishop pg 105} At the age of 27, Caldicott enlisted on the 28th
April 1916, giving his mother Mrs Harriet Mary Caldicott as next of kin. This was later changed to Glenwynd Maud Caldicott, his wife, whom he had married prior to his departure for overseas service. Caldicott’s unit embarked from Adelaide on HMAT A 70 Ballarat on the 12th August 1916. In November 1916 Private Caldicott was sent to France with the 48th Battalion of the 4th Reinforcements.
On the 5th April 1918 Caldicott was wounded in action in France, suffering a gunshot wound to the leg. He spent much time recovering in Harefield Hospital in England prior to rejoining his battalion in France on the 10th October 1918.


Caldicott was appointed Lance Corporal on the 11th November and continued his military service in France until he departed for Australia on the 12th May 1919 on board the Port Napier, and was discharged on the 13th August 1919. While serving in France Caldicott regularly wrote to family members back home in Forest Range, in particular to his sister Harriett [Hetty], signing himself as “your loving brother Os”. His letters centred on enquiring about family and friends, seldom mentioning the loss of comrades or the horrendous experiences at the battlefront, while simultaneously assuring his family that he was “quite well and safe at present.” An exception was his letter to Hetty of August the 20th 1918. Os stated that at the second battle of Amiens from the 6th to the 12th of August, “The Aussies captured the lion’s share of the prisoners and penetrated to the greatest depth, but the paper scarcely mentioned them being in it.” He added that “we spent the evening at the cage with the Fritzers. Quite a few of them could talk English. Any amount of our fellows were there going through them for souvenirs, are absolute ghouls some of them even take their military decorations, family photos etc. I made a point of watching to see how many had decorations, the percentage isn’t a quarter of what it is in our army.”

Os and his fellow soldiers were puzzled as to the meaning of the inscription, “Gott mit uns” on German issue belts. He wrote in his letter to Hetty, “A newly arrived Yank comes up and asks a Fritz who could speak our language what it meant, on being told “God with us”, he said “Oh! that’s nothing, we’ve got the Aussies with us”. It may seem a bit sacrilegious but nevertheless it struck me as very humorous. Like when our fellows came down here first and arrested his advance in front of Amiens, the froggies went into raptures over them and the yarn was current that they were going to take the symbol of Christ down off all the crucifixes and put Aussies up.”
The impact of losing a mate in battle can be clearly comprehended when Os wrote, “a fellow out of the 10th told me that Stanley Dyer {from Uraidla} was killed in this stunt. It has grieved me more than the loss of anyone else. Poor beggar has been in it 4 years and would have had his leave to Aus. any time. Has been wounded 4 times too. I believe he was a Coy. Sergeant Major, I think. Had just arrived back from England after being there wounded. Stan’s brother Frank came down to see me this afternoon and verified the news. He {Stan} was dead unlucky, as CSM his place was at Coy H.Q but he said to the Coy Commander he’d go with the boys {they had to take a wood which was impeding their advance}. Just went with a walking stick and while directing a bit of an operation was shot through the head and fell down dead, still grasping his stick. In the stunt when they captured Amiens a while ago he captured 2 machine guns and their entire crews on his own, also got 14 German watches as souvenirs.”
Os wrote a comprehensive account of the Australian breakthrough of the Hindenburg Line at Bullecourt. The text of his report and that of a later newspaper article titled “A warm time in Flanders” have both been included at the rear of this book. It is interesting to compare them as they highlight how censorship operated during World War One.
In his comprehensive “Birds of the Wilderness”, John Bishop highlights the post-war life of Glen and Os Caldicott, stating “Upon his return, Glen and Os built a home in the northern area of Harry Caldicott’s property and called it Waroon. They had two daughters. During their time at Lenswood, Glen and Os were involved in community affairs. Os was, for 40 years, Warden of the Anglican Mission Hall, and Glen one of the church organists. Os was a member of the Onkaparinga sub-branch of the R.S.L., served in the Volunteer Defence Corps during the Second World War and played bowls and tennis. Glen was involved with the Mothers Union, the Primary School Welfare Club, Red Cross, Comforts Fund, C.W.A. and played bridge… In 1959 Glen and Os retired to Myrtle Bank. Os was suffering from nervous complaints certainly attributable to his war service and, in part, lost his memory. He died aged 74 on 4 October1963 and was buried at Centennial Park, Adelaide.