BREAKSPEAR, Victor
| Service Number: | 23 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 26 October 1917 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | Army Ordnance Corps AIF |
| Born: | Waverley, New South Wales, Australia, 16 March 1898 |
| Home Town: | Manly, Manly Vale, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Sydney Technical High School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Apprentice engineer |
| Died: | 17 September 1956, aged 58 years, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Sydney Technical High School WW1 Roll Of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 26 Oct 1917: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 23, Army Ordnance Corps AIF | |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Jan 1918: | Involvement 23, Army Ordnance Corps AIF, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '1' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Borda embarkation_ship_number: A30 public_note: '' | |
| 5 Jan 1918: | Embarked 23, Army Ordnance Corps AIF, HMAT Borda, Adelaide |
Help us honour Victor Breakspear's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Sydney Technical High School
Victor Breakspear was born on 16 March 1898 in the family of James Frederick Breakspear and Jessie Alma Landers, he lived with Nea Breakspear, Ella Breakspear and Esme Mary Breakspear who were all his siblings.(1) Victor Breakspear, lived in Manly most of the early years of his life and attended Sydney Technical High School between the years of 1911 to 1913, he did not score very well in his tests during his first two years with scores dropping as low as 32. He placed 37th in his first year in high school and 13th in the second year, Victor’s grades improved rapidly resulting in him being placed 5th in his final year in school. The date that he left the school is not certain but in the school records of the final year, there is no record of him scoring any marks and it is written “left,” which implies that he probably left before the final term.(2) He left school and became an apprentice engineer(3) before enlisting to the AIF
He enlisted on 26 October 1917 and was assigned to The Australian Ordnance Corps(Inspector Ordnance Machinery Section) (3), this division was in charge of maintaining and supplying weapons to infantry divisions while also repairing and inspecting machinery used during the war. These people were also in charge of making sure that every soldier had working and reliable guns and providing enough ammunition so that these soldiers could continue fighting without any mechanical and supply issues. (4)
He embarked with his unit from Adelaide, South Australia, on board the HMAT A30 Borda on the 5th of January 1918, disembarking at Plymouth, England on 4th March 1918.
He was granted leave for 7 days(4th-11th/3)as soon as he disembarked, after the one-week leave that he was granted, he reported at Army Ordnance Corps for special duty (5)
He presented sick to the Brook War Hospital in Woolwich on the 21st of May 1918 and was dismissed on the 5th of June 1918.(5) The Brook War Hospital which was located in Woolwich near his original Red Barracks which was located in Frances street, south of Woolwich dockyard, this hospital was catered for patients with scarlet fever, enteric fever or diphtheria. While there are no records on why he was administered to this hospital, it is assumed that he probably got diagnosed with either scarlet fever, enteric fever or diphtheria(6)
He embarked overseas to France on the 24th of September 1918 where he was taken on the strength of the Australian Army Ordnance Corps and was allocated for duty in France on the 27th of September 1918. He spent 4 months serving duty in this brigade mostly repairing, supplying and inspecting machinery and assisting with the clean-up once the war ended.
After about 4 months on the 30th of January 1919, he sustained burns to the face during his service in France. While the injury report does not go into detail about how he received these burns. He was dismissed from duty by the duty officer on the 31st of January 1919 and rejoined the same day where he would serve loyally for another 6 months which was about 8 months after the war had ended, he was granted leave on the 2nd of July 1919 and arrived back at Australia on 6th September 1919.(7)
When Victor Breakspear returned home, he met hiswife Olga Malm and they married on the 21st of November 1921. The two of them lived a decently happy life where they would move residence about four times after the war, they moved into Bexley in 1936, Arncliffe in 1943, Sutherland in 1949 and finally Kingsgrove East in 1954.(3) Victor died on the 17th of September 1956.
References
(1): https://keithbassett.id.au/p3167.htm
(2) Image(google drive): THS 1911 division IV first year term 3
THS 1912 class 1F
THS 1913 class 2E Term 2
(3) Breakspear Victor.docx on Google Drive(https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Q_cyNpw1UJfHKIyX5fKHP08wt4fXZBRF/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=117046411120633445394&rtpof=true&sd=true)
(4): https://www.army.gov.au/about-us/army-corps/royal-australian-army-ordnance-corps
(5): Google Drive: breakspear01
(6): https://www.layersoflondon.org/map/records/brook-hospital-site
(7): https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=3115227&isAv=N (digital copy page 9)
(8): Excel spreadsheet https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hyQLvkxuF6Dl-lj4fHgghvVG5w3nA4ZL/view?usp=classroom_web&authuser=0
Bibliography
Ken Stevenson
https://aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=31227
Google Drive images on Victor Breakspear
https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/94137
https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3115227
https://keithbassett.id.au/p3167.htm