BADMINGTON, Sydney Oscar
| Service Number: | 4158 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 2 August 1915, On enlistment, assigned to 13th Reinforcements, 1st Battalion |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 54th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Manly, New South Wales, Australia, 29 September 1892 |
| Home Town: | Mosman, Municipality of Mosman, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Clerk |
| Died: | Stomach pains, died before a doctor could reach him, Wellington, New Zealand, 1 December 1936, aged 44 years |
| Cemetery: |
Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens and Crematorium, NSW North Ryde, Ryde City, New South Wales, Australia PLOT South West Terrace Wall 116 |
| Memorials: | Cobar Canbelego Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 2 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 4158, On enlistment, assigned to 13th Reinforcements, 1st Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Dec 1915: | Embarked Private, 4158, 1st Infantry Battalion, HMAT Aeneas, Sydney | |
| 20 Dec 1915: | Involvement Private, 4158, 1st Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Aeneas embarkation_ship_number: A60 public_note: '' | |
| 16 Feb 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 54th Infantry Battalion, While in Tel El Kabir, Egypt, Sydney was transferred from 13th Reinforcements, 1st Infantry Battalion to 54th Infantry Battalion | |
| 1 Mar 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Corporal, 54th Infantry Battalion, Was promoted Temporary Corporal, later referred to as Corporal | |
| 19 Jul 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Corporal, 4158, 54th Infantry Battalion, Fromelles (Fleurbaix), Admitted 22 July, 1916, No.13 Stationary Hospital - gunshot wound penetrating chest, severe. Initially reported "missing". | |
| 18 Mar 1918: | Discharged AIF WW1, Corporal, 4158, 54th Infantry Battalion, Medically unfit for further service. Awarded British War & Victory Medals. |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Linda Neate
The son of Edward Badmington and Bertha Louise nee Pooley, Sydney Oscar Badmington applied for enlistment on 2 August, 1915 via Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia. He had had five months' membership in the Canbelago Rifle Club, most likely having moved to this area for work, where copper and gold mining were leading employers.
Enlistment papers described Sydney as 6 foot tall, weighing 147 pounds, with dark complexion, brown eyes and black hair, and religious connection with the Church of England. Father Edward had died in 1896 and mother Bertha Louise in 1908, so Sydney gave as his next of kin his sister, Mrs. Bertha May Paton of Mosman.
Initially registered to the 13th Reinforcements, 1st Battalion, at Tel El Kebir, Egypt, Sydney was transferred to the 54th Battalion and promoted to Corporal. The 54th Battalion engaged in the disastrous campaign at Fromelle. Wounded, he was reported as "missing" from the 19th to 20th July, 1916, but was recorded as hospitalised on 22nd July, 1916 at No.13 Stationary Hospital, Boulogne.
Sydney's cousin Richard Badmington, 53rd Battalion, also came to grief at Fromelle, a Prisoner of War sent to Munster, Westphalen, Germany, and he applied to the Red Cross Society for news of Cousin Sydney. Had he been taken as a Prisoner of War, too? Was he hospitalised somewhere? Or was there a recorded burial with a simple wooden cross to indicate where his remains lay?
As a result of the Red Cross Society's research, Corporal Stanley Burgess said he had seen Sydney fall with what looked like a shoulder wound. Corporal Burgess saw nothing further, as he himself was wounded. Private McDonald said Sydney took off into the woods with a party, some of which returned three hours later but minus Corporal Badmington.
Finally, confirmation was received of the whereabouts of Corporal Badmington, 54th AIF, B Coy, VII Platoon, at Killingbeck Hospital, East Leeds.
Following lengthy hospitalisation and convalescence, Sydney embarked for home via H.S. a14 "Euripides" on 21 July, 1917, and was discharged 18 March, 1918, receiving the British War & Victory medals.
Sydney's cousin Richard died 14 October, 1918, from pleurisy and pneumonia in hospital in Essen, Germany. Richard's brother Harry Duff Badmington, 20th Battalion, was killed in action 9 October, 1917 during the Battle of Poelcapelle.
In 1921, Sydney married Lily Victoria Millburn. Together with their growing family of daughters, they moved to Pymble, New South Wales. As a company secretary, Sydney travelled from time to time. On 1 September, 1936, he was with a work colleague at St.George's Hotel, Wellington, New Zealand, when he became seriously ill with stomach pains, and unexpectedly died before a doctor arrived on the scene.
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