GOSSAGE, Harold Royce
| Service Number: | NX163432 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 6 March 1943, In the Field, NSW |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 22 Infantry Battalion AMF |
| Born: | Gulgong, NSW, 1 March 1924 |
| Home Town: | Gulgong, Mid-Western Regional, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Salesman |
| Died: | Killed in Action, New Guinea, 12 December 1943, aged 19 years |
| Cemetery: |
Lae War Cemetery JJ D 1 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Gulgong District Soliders Memorial, Gulgong Memorial Hall, Gulgong WW2 Roll of Honor |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Private, NX163432 | |
|---|---|---|
| 6 Mar 1943: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, NX163432, 22 Infantry Battalion AMF, In the Field, NSW |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
Son of Harold Thomas Gossage and Eva Gossage, of Sunnydale, Gulgong, New South Wales.
HIS DUTY NOBLY DONE...FATHER, MOTHER BROTHER AND SISTER
Message From the King
"He Died for Us— He Did His Duty Faithfully and Well"
Mr. and Mrs. H. R. Gossage, of Sunnydale, Gulgong, are naturally proud at receiving a message of sympathy from his Majesty the King in the following words:—
"Buckingnam Palace: The Queen and I offer you our heartfelt sympathy in your great sorrow. We pray that your country's gratitude for a life so nobly given in its service may bring you some measure of consolation. — (Signed) George R.I."
They might even be prouder of the knowledge expressed in the words of the padre connected with their son's unit when he wrote the words "He died for us." With the permission of Mr. and Mrs. Gossage, an extract of this letter is herewith:—
"His company was advancing that day and met a good deal of opposition, being themselves cut off for some time. The particular section that your boy was in was isolated from the rest, and had a difficult day. It was during the morning that they met the fire that struck Royce. He must have died instantly. His sergeant, later wounded, came in during the afternoon and took me to the spot amid the bush. There we laid him to rest, made a cross from bush timber, and inscribe hi name and particulars. Your lad was one of those representing us at the point of danger. I felt in a very real fashion that he died for us as we stood at that graveside." And so, with his padre, Chaplain Hedley Shotton, we should all feel that yet another of our own lads died for us, and to preserve our freedom.
Let it be said of each one of us, as of Harold Royce Gossage, in the words of his commanding Officer, Lieut.-Col. J. C. O'Connor, from whom also Mr. and Mrs. Gossage received a message, "He did his duty faithfully and well."
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