SPENCE, Norman Oscar
| Service Number: | 563 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 2 October 1916, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 3rd Machine Gun Battalion |
| Born: | Brighton, Victoria, 18 January 1888 |
| Home Town: | Brighton, Bayside, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Brighton Primary School |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Heilly, France, 5 April 1918, aged 30 years |
| Cemetery: |
Ribemont Communal Cemetery Extension, Somme Block 3 Row C Grave 4, Ribemont Communal Cemetery Extension, Ribemont, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 2 Oct 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 563, Melbourne, Victoria | |
|---|---|---|
| 14 Feb 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 563, 10th Machine Gun Company, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '21' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: RMS Osterley embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 14 Feb 1917: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 563, 10th Machine Gun Company, RMS Osterley, Melbourne | |
| 5 May 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 563, 3rd Machine Gun Battalion, Merris (France), --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 563 awm_unit: 3rd Australian Machine Gun Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1918-05-05 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Lisa Judd
Norman Oscar Spence was born in Brighton in 1888. The third child of the six children of Frank & Emily Spence, he attended Brighton Primary School whilst the family resided at Blanche St. Brighton.
Norman was a municipal employee, living in Newcastle, NSW, when he first tried to enlist. To his disappointment he was rejected because his eyesight wasnt good enough. Undeterred, Norman joined his local militia, 13 Infantry Citizens Military Forces. Once he had been accepted by the local militia, he then moved to Melbourne and applied to transfer to the AIF.
After training at Seymour, he was posted to 10th Machine Gun Co. and with the rest of the 8th reinforcements, embarked on the HMS Osterley, bound for Plymouth. On arrival in England, he was sent to Machine Gun Training Depot at Grantham and from there to 3rd Divisions, 23rd Machine Gun Co in France.
On 26th March 1918, 3rd Division were rushed to the Somme, where they took up positions near Heilly, not far from Villers Bretonneaux. There was immediate heavy fighting in this sector. Norman was killed on 20th April 1918. He was buried in Heilly Cemetery No. 2 and then, after the war, re-interred in Ribemont Communal Cemetery Extension, Block 3 Row C Grave 4.
His few possessions, he had bequeathed to his mother. They were sent home in the SS Barunga, which was torpedoed and sunk near the Scilly Isles with the loss of all items on 8th July 1918.
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