Gordon Osmond
Born 9 Jun 1886 - Died 17 Feb 1971
- Service number
- WWI 4/1188 AWMM
- Also known as
- —
- Armed force / branch
- Army AWMM
- Last rank
- WW1 Sapper AWMM New Zealand Field Engineers AWMM
- War
- World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM
About
- Title
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- Forenames
- Gordon AWMM
- Surname
- Osmond AWMM
- Ingoa
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- Also known as
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- Service number
- WWI 4/1188 AWMM
- Gender
- Male AWMM
- Iwi / Hapū / Waka / Rohe
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- Religion
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Images
Documents
About birth
- Birth
- 9 Jun 1886 AWMM
- Date of birth
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- Place of birth
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- Birth notes
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- Address before enlistment
- Unknown AWMM Wainuiomata, New Zealand AWMM
- Wainuiomapu, WairarapaPublic - Liz - Researcher - 26 July 2021 - Supreme Court proceedings in Wellington, 22 AUGUST 1912
- Post war occupation
- Gentleman/Civilian AWMM
- Next of kin
- Mrs Phoebe Osmond (mother), Ranfurly Road, Epsom, Auckland, New Zealand AWMM
- Relationship status
- Pre 13 Nov 1915 AWMM Single AWMM
Wars and conflicts
- War
- World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM
- Campaign
- 1914-1916 AWMM Egypt AWMM
- 1914-1919 AWMM Western Front AWMM
- Armed force / branch
- Army AWMM
- Service number
- WWI 4/1188 AWMM
- Military service
- —
- Promotions/ Postings/ Transfers
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Military decorations
- Medals and Awards
- 1914-1915 Star AWMM
- Victory Medal AWMM
- British War Medal (1914-1920) AWMM
Training and Enlistment
- Military training
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- Branch Trade Proficiency
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- Enlistment
- WW1
- Age on enlistment
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- Occupation before enlistment
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Embarkations
- Embarkation details
- WW1 13 Nov 1915 AWMM
HMNZT 35 or HMNZT 36 AWMM Vessel was Willochra or Tofua AWMM Sapper AWMM New Zealand Field Engineers AWMM 8th Reinforcements AWMM
Prisoner of war
- Capture details
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- Days interned
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- Liberation date
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- POW liberation details
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- Liberation Repatriation
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- POW serial number
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Medical history
- Medical notes
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Last known rank
- Last rank
- WW1 23 May 1919 AWMM Sapper AWMM
New Zealand Field Engineers AWMM - Last rank
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Biographical information
- Gordon Osmond was born at Epsom, Auckland, on 9 June 1886, the son of Charles Henry Osmond and Phoebe Osmond. Before World War I he worked as a farmer and was living at Wainui-o-mapu, near Masterton. He enlisted in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force on 24 August 1915 and embarked with the 8th Reinforcements on 13 November 1915 as Sapper 4/1188, New Zealand Field Engineers.
Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira holds the Gordon Osmond papers (MS-1999-27), including wartime letters and postcards available to view digitally through Pou Kanohi New Zealand at War. These include a letter written while waiting to proceed to the front in France, a farewell postcard sent before the Battle of Messines, and a letter from Belgium describing prolonged shellfire and picket duty.
In a letter written in France in 1916, Osmond described exercising horses, receiving food and clothing parcels from home, and living in a converted washing shed near a canal. He wrote appreciatively of the cake, condensed milk, tobacco, socks and towel sent by his family, while asking for soap and better underclothing. Despite the prospect of moving to the firing line, he reassured them: “Don’t worry over me if I am to be hit I’ll get hit sooner or later it’s no use worrying” (MS-1999-27-2-2).
Before the Battle of Messines, Osmond sent his mother a short postcard dated 9 June 1917: “My dear people, just in case I get nip’d this is my goodbye. Don’t worry one little bit we all have to die some day. Wish I could have seen you all but tis not to be. Au revoir & tons & tons of love, Gordon” (MS-1999-27-2-8).
Osmond served on the Western Front with the New Zealand Field Engineers, including the 1st Field Company. His duties included work under shellfire and periods of picket duty. In March 1918, writing from Belgium, he described continuous bombardment, enemy aircraft overhead and the difficulty of distinguishing the sounds of different shells. He recalled lying flat when he feared bombs were falling and wrote that the noise of several shells arriving together was “appalling” and “indescribable” (MS-1999-27-2-9).
The same letter continued over several days as the bombardment intensified. Osmond wrote that he had endured “a damned rough time” and feared that he might be “blown to atoms”. The interruption of the mail meant that he did not know when his family would receive the letter.
His service file records more than three years overseas in Egypt and on the Western Front. In October 1918 he became ill with influenza and was admitted to No. 2 New Zealand General Hospital at Walton-on-Thames. A pathological report recorded influenza with secondary bacterial infection, including pneumococcal and staphylococcal infection. He later convalesced at Hornchurch.
A Medical Board in January 1919 considered him temporarily unfit because of debility following influenza, although his general condition was described as good. He subsequently returned to New Zealand and was discharged on 23 May 1919 on the termination of his period of engagement. His total service amounted to three years and 275 days, including three years and 164 days overseas.
For his service, Osmond received the 1914–15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal. AWMM
About death
- Death
- 17 Feb 1971 AWMM
- Date of death
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- Age at death
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- Place of death
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- Cause of death
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- Death notes
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- Cemetery
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- Cemetery name
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- Grave reference
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- Obituary
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- Memorial name
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- Memorial reference
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Memorial
- Memorial name
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Related objects
Sources
- External links
- Military personnel file
https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R21382935
Further Reference - References
- Annabell, N. Official History of the New Zealand Engineers during the Great War 1914–1919. Wanganui: Evans, Cobb & Sharpe, 1927.
- New Zealand Army Expeditionary Force. (1914-1919). Nominal Rolls of New Zealand Expeditionary Force, Volume I. Wellington, N.Z.: Govt. Printer.
Vol1: 556 - Osmond, Gordon. Papers, 1915-1952. Auckland War Memorial Museum Library. MS-99-27.
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