Sydney Enos Price

1918 May 27 KIA Sydney Enos Price Private 598, Platoon VII, B Company, 32nd Battalion ;

1916 Jul 19 – 20 remarkably he was 1 of only a few survivors from the horrendous Battle of Fromelles
( Bean Chpt XII pg 340 his B Company together with A Company were the leading Fromelles Assault Companies, with C & D Companies in Support )
in which 718 of his Battalion comrades were casualties within 24 hours, during the night frontal attack of 1916 Jul 19, advancing upon the German stronghold of Delangre Farm ( not far from “ Sugarloaf “ machinegun blockhouses ) ;
almost 75% of his 32nd Battalion’s total strength were casualties ( but closer to 90% of its actual fighting strength ) ;
( the Victorian 60th Battalion also suffered 757 casualties ; the Australia casualty rate for a single Battalion was only surpassed by the Battle of Bullecourt on 1917 May 12, but over a longer period )

So decimated was the 32nd Battalion that remnants were merged with the 30th Battalion :
( the 32nd Battalion had previously been a “ composite “ Battalion of both South & West, Australians [ similar to Pte 1026 William ( “ Will “ or Wm ) Charles Crook’s 16th “ composite “ Battalion, which was also decimated with 338 casualties at the Battle of “ Bloody Angle “ alone, as a lead up to “ Baby 700 “, at Gallipoli 1915 May 2 – 3, 1 year earlier ; after the Gallipoli evacuation, the 16th Battalion was split up, to supply experienced soldiers to the 48th Battalion in France ! ] ) ;

1918 May 27 Sadly Sydney Enos Price was killed in action ( KIA ) together with 2 of his comrades ( 12 also wounded ), almost 2 years after the Battle of Fromelles, when attached to a field Cookhouse, which was mistakenly shelled a few hours after a German observation aircraft mistook the Cooking apparatus for an Artillery piece ;

He was born ONLY Son 7 November 1895 to Enos Price & Emily Susan Prideaux Weeks youngest Daughter ; in Noarlunga ( the " Horseshoe " or " Shoe " ), South Australia, same location that his Colonial Pioneer Farmer, Grandfather William Weeks had settled with Mary Prideaux to raise 6 surviving Children ( of 10 born ), of which 3 were Sons, from 1856 onwards, having both emigrated to Port Adelaide from England on the non - assisted passage ship " Pheobe " in 1847 ; & consequently migrated to Hindmarsh & Edwards Town beforehand ;

Cheers Jeff

if there was a " 1st " occasion it may not have been officially recorded due to lack of man power resources in Stretcher Bearers &/or
a Field Ambulance Clearing Station ( if any existed or survived ) ;
the " 1st occasion " may have occurred during some of the heaviest fighting of the France WWI Arena, notwithstanding that the ( International ) Red Cross only began,
in 1916 in earnest, to record wounded & POW " Colonial Boys ", & before which, a significant number of atrocities had already occurred on both sides,
as lethal confirmation of the 1st Industrial REVOLUTION / Mass Production, murderous intent ;
( the 2nd was Microsoft Desktop Computers or " PC " & Software from the late 1970s onwards )

ALL 4 Weeks Brothers enlisted WW1 ( my Grandfather Francis James [ Jim ], Leslie Horace, William Stanley & Roy Eric ) ; as did
Francis James Weeks 4 Sons enlisted WW2 : Stan, my Father James [ Jim ], Max & Charlie !

Many thanks
Cheers
Jeff

Sydney Enos Price Photo