SWENSON, Nicholas Theodore
| Service Number: | 141 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry |
| Born: | Norway, 27 September 1878 |
| Home Town: | East Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Middle School Norway; Central State School Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation: | Clerk, Survey Draftsman, Soldier |
| Died: | Natural Causes, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 29 September 1966, aged 88 years |
| Cemetery: |
Mount Thompson Memorial Gardens & Crematorium, Queensland Columbarium 12 | Section 18 |
| Memorials: |
Boer War Service
| 1 Oct 1899: | Involvement Private, 141, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Nov 1899: | Embarked Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 141, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry, AWM Boer War Unit Details, Murray p. 448 notes 1st QMI embarked 1 Nov 1899 aboard Cornwall arriving Cape Town 13 Dec 1899. | |
| 8 Sep 1900: | Discharged Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 141, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry, Qld State Archives- Boer War Service Paybooks 1st QMI B Coy, Bk 2 p. 104, notes invalided returned to Australia aboard Damascus arriving Brisbane 1 Sep 1900, discharged 8 Sep 1900. |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Claude McKelvey
Also served in WW1 under his birth name Nikolai Theodor Svensen (though some record him as Niholai Theodore Svenson), Lieutenant, 17th Infantry Battalion, AIF.
When he enlisted in 1899 for the South African (Boer) war he was recorded under the name Nicholas Theodore Swenson as published with the rank and file in the Daily Telegraph, 1 Nov 1899, and in the original Nominal Roll for the 1st Queensland Contingent, B Company, for service in South Africa. On the nominal roll no N.O.K. was recorded but he gave his address as Northgate St, Mobraytown, Brisbane.
In the Boer War Service Paybooks for the 1st QMI, B Coy, Bk 2 p. 104, it is noted he directed part of his pay to his mother Mrs. M. Swensen, Northcoate St, East Brisbane. This is likely what his address was meant to be on the nominal roll. Mowbraytown was one of the original settlements established in 1844 on the south side of the Brisbane river and by 1899 had become part of the suburb of East Brisbane. The service paybooks also note he was working in the Public Works Dept when he enlisted, which possibly led to the Anglicising of the spelling of his name.
In 1914 he again enlisted for WW1 applying for a commission which was granted at the rank of Lieutenant on 30 Sep 1914. On his application for a commission form, dated 20 Aug 1914, it is noted that; he was born on 27 Sep 1878 (Norway) and was a naturalized British Subject; was working as a Survey Draftsman in the Qld Survey Office, Brisbane; was married with 3 children; his N.O.K. was his wife Katherine Svensen, South Brisbane; and he had previously served with various units of the Qld Defence Force and with the 1st QMI in South Africa, and was appointed Lieutenant in 1907 and Captain in 1910.
Nickolai Theodor Svensen was born on 27 Sep 1817 at Larvik, Norway, a son to Theodor Svensen And Marie Svensen (nee Rosenkilde). His father's heritage was in shipbuilding and, with a downturn due to the advent of steamships, emigrated with his wife and children to Australia to make a new life when Nickolai was still a young child (extracted from 'A Viking at Gallipoli' by Michael Moran, 2023).
He was twice married. He first married Katherine Armstrong on 1 Feb 1905 at East Brisbane and they had 4 children. Katherine passed in 1943 and he then married Lillian Cahill on 13 Mar 1943 in Brisbane. During his WW1 service he kept meticulous diaries which is the subject of an online post 'A Viking at Gallipoli' by a family relative, Michael Moran, which provides and insight into his life- see links.
(source- AWM Boer War Nominal Roll, Murray p. 455, Qld State Archives- Boer War Service Paybooks 1st QMI, B Coy, Bk 2 p. 104; National Archives Australia- B 5172 Nominal Roll of 1st Queensland Contingent for service in South Africa, p. 3; National Archives Australia- WW1 service record; "A Viking at Gallipoli: The Diaries of Capt. Nikolai Theodor Svensen of 15th Battalion (Australia)", Michael Moran, 24 Apr 2023- see links).