BAUMANN, Oscar Eric
| Service Number: | 10 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 1 June 1915, Keswick, South Australia |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 32nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Hahndorf, South Australia, Australia, 21 June 1896 |
| Home Town: | Eastwood, Burnside, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Parkside Primary School, South Australia, Australia |
| Occupation: | Carpenter / Joiner |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Fromelles, France, 20 July 1916, aged 20 years |
| Cemetery: |
Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery Plot II. Row E. Grave 11. Inscription: IN LOVING MEMORY OF OUR SON AND BROTHER HIS DUTY NOBLY DONE |
| Memorials: | Burnside District Fallen Soldiers' Memorial - Rose Park, Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Burnside & District - Fallen Soldiers Memorial Trees - Rose Park, Parkside Public School Roll of Honor, Tusmore Burnside District Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 1 Jun 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 10, Depot Battalion , Keswick, South Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Jun 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Sergeant, 10, 32nd Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1 | |
| 18 Nov 1915: |
Embarked
AIF WW1, Sergeant, 10, 32nd Infantry Battalion, embarkation_roll: roll_number: 17 embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Geelong embarkation_ship_number: A2 public_note: |
|
| 17 Jun 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Sergeant, 10, 32nd Infantry Battalion, Embarked Alexandria for B.E.F per "Transylvania" | |
| 23 Jun 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Sergeant, 10, 32nd Infantry Battalion, Disembarked Marseilles, France | |
| 19 Jul 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Sergeant, 10, 32nd Infantry Battalion, Fromelles (Fleurbaix) | |
| 20 Jul 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Sergeant, 10, 32nd Infantry Battalion, Fromelles (Fleurbaix), Killed in Action |
Identification of Oscar Baumann
Family journey to have Oscar identified.
When we heard in 2008 that an archeological dig had recovered the remains of 250 Australian and British servicemen at Pheasant Wood, the family was buoyed with hope that our ‘Uncle Oscar’ might at last have been found. Newspapers in South Australia reported with great anticipation that Oscar and several other soldiers from the State could be among those identified.
I’m his great nephew, my grandmother Olga was Oscar’s older sister. And growing up, my generation of his descendants had assumed he might forever be buried somewhere as an ‘Unknown Soldier’.
With great expectation a cousin and I registered on the Missing Servicemen Database. Along with more than one thousand other Australians, we became DNA donors. A descendant of Oscar’s brother Walter also gave DNA.
In the first few years of the Army’s Fromelles Project, many soldiers were identified from the 250 sets of remains. Unfortunately for us, Oscar Baumann wasn’t among them. The years passed, and we had all but given up hope.
Then in 2021 I was approached by an Adelaide journalist who told me he believed that Oscar and two other Australian soldiers were about to be identified. I contacted an officer of the Army’s Fromelles Project, who told me it was likely that Oscar Baumann was among those recovered, but in the absence of one hundred per cent certainty there could not be official identification. The Army needed more DNA information, so I sent them the family trees of Oscar’s siblings.
The ’missing link’ turned out to be the daughter of Oscar’s youngest sister- a living niece in Adelaide by the name of Barbara Elsley. She gladly offered her DNA, and on Anzac Day of 2023 the Australian government announced that Oscar, along with five other soldiers of Fromelles, had been officially identified. Barbara was so captivated with events that at the age of 85 she travelled to France for the rededication ceremony at Fromelles on 19th July. She represented the family to unveil a new headstone bearing his name- Oscar was no longer an Unknown Soldier.
Oscar’s new headstone notes ‘His Duty Nobly Done’, the words chosen by his parents in the death notice in 1916.
His story is poignant given his heritage. Oscar’s father had emigrated from Germany only thirty-seven years before the outbreak of war. While some German immigrants in Australia were interned and others were ‘Anglicising’ their names, Oscar’s parents offered permission for his enlistment- only to have their son killed in action by a German enemy on the battlefields of France.
Trevor Bormann 20/9/23
Submitted 28 August 2024 by Steve Larkins
Biography contributed by Steve Larkins
Born on the 21st of June 1896 at Hahndorf, Oscar Baumann was just 19 years and 1 month old when he enlisted on the 21st of July 1915. His father Mr C.H. Baumann consented to his son's enlistment. His mother Mrs Maria Louisa Baumann was listed as his next of kin, and his address as Elizabeth Street Eastwood SA
He had had previous military experience serving with the volunteer cadets at school for two years before joining the 74th Infantry Citizen Military Forces which he was still serving when he enlisted in the AIF.
He stated his occupation as a joiner (carpenter) and stated that he had been an apprentice at Hackett Harris, Adelaide for 3 years. His marital status was declared as single.
Within a month of enlisting he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant, probably due to his previous military service, and assigned to A Company of the 32nd Battalion. The 32nd Battalion's composition was half South Australian and half Western Australian recruits. Along with the 29th, 30th and 31st Battalions, the 32nd formed the 8th Brigade in the 5th Division.
Embarking at Outer Harbour in Adelaide on the 18th of November 1915 the 32nd Battalion boarded HMAT Geelong (A2) and sailed for Egypt. After arriving in Egypt the 32nd Battalion went straight into training while the AIF underwent an expansion and reorganisation of its forces. This included the splitting of the 1st Division and 4th Brigade into two new divisions, (so these divisions then had a core group of soldiers with past experience,) while new reinforcements arrived from Australia to fill in the gaps.
The 32nd Battalion then transited the Mediterranean Sea and landed in France. From here they were then moved by train to Northern France, arriving in northern France near the 'Nursery' section of the front line near Armentieres and a little village called Fromelles. Many of the soldiers had remarked at the beautiful farming country through which they passed on their way north. For many, it was a stark contrast to the Middle East and even the sunburnt landscapes of their homeland.
The 5th Division was last into the sector. By then the other divisions had begun to move south in preparation for their part in the soon-to-be-launched Somme Offensive. By mid July only the 5th Division remained. They were told they were to take part in a major attack - the first Division-level engagement by the AIF on the Western Front.
A and C Companies of the 32nd Battalion formed up on the extreme left of the 5th Division assault formation before launching their attack at 6:00 pm on the night of the 19/20 of July 1916. The attack was a disaster. While the 32nd Battalion achieved initial success on its axis of advance, unlike many other battalions that night, their apparent success was illusory. When they continued advancing towards what they thought were the second and third German Trench lines, all they found were drainage ditches.
The 32nd tried to consolidate its position as best they could, but they had over-extended relative to their flanking units who had been stopped in front of the German positions and were subjected to deadly 'enfilade fire' from their flanks and strong German counter-attacks. They were progressively cut off and were either driven back to their own lines, killed or captured.
After the withdrawal many Australian soldiers were left dead or wounded near the German line and Oscar Baumann is assumed to be one of these. The Germans buried many of them in six mass graves behind Pheasant Wood just outside of the town of Fromelles. Oscar's ID tags were returned via the Red Cross.
These graves were discovered in 2008 after the work of Melbourne school teacher Lambis Eglezos, and exhumed in 2010.
Oscar has been commemorated on the Memorial to the Missing at VC Corner Cemetery. However, it was considered highly likely that he was one of the many buried at Pheasant Wood, because the German's wrote up a list of casualties after the battle with his name included.
Through DNA analysis many soldiers have been identified. The process was made difficult because the best results are achieved through female relatives, but of course these men were mainly unmarried and therefore had no descendants of their own.
Just prior to Anzac Day 2023 it was announced that Oscar's remains had been positively identified. He was reinterred at the newest cemetery on the Western Front on the outskirts of the village of Fromelles, 'Pheasants Wood', so he is no longer one AUstralia's 18,000 or so soldiers from WW1 with 'No Known Grave'.
Medals
1914/15 Star: 24517
British War Medal: 24736
Victory Medal: 24560
Commemorative Plaque: 314890
Research by Steve Larkins November 2013 Updated 2024
Biography contributed by VWM Australia
Oscar Baumann's remains were positively identified in 2023 and have been re-interred at the Pheasant Wood Cemetery.
Previously No known grave - listed at VC Corner Cemetery and Memorial, Fromelles, Lille, Nord Pas de Calais, France (Memorial).
Click images to start slideshow.