Sydney Fenner Blencowe

Sydney Fenner Blencowe

Personal Information
Date of Birth	not known 1889
Place of Birth	Dulwich, Surrey, England
Death	11 Apr 1917
Place of Death	Reincourt, France
Age at Enlistment	25 years, 11 months
Description	5'3¼" (1.61m) tall ; 119lbs 53.977 kg ; fair complexion ; blue eyes ; dark hair
Occupation	letter carrier
Religion	Church of England
Address	Victoria Park, Western Australia
Next of Kin	Father , Mr Francis Blencowe
Military Information
Reg Number	2863]
Date of Enlistment	22 Jul 1915
Rank	Private
Unit/Formation	16th Battalion, 9th Reinforcements, transferred to the 48th Battalion
Date of Embarkation	4 Oct 1915 ‒ 27 Oct 1915
Ship Embarked On	HMAT A20 Hororata
Fate	Killed in Action 11 Apr 1917 1st Bullecourt
Monument	Gosnells War Memorial Gosnells Road Board Honour Roll Villers-Bretonneux Memorial Postmaster General's Department Roll of Honour Commonwealth of Australia Building, Perth AWM
Medals	1914-15 Star British War Medal Victory Medal

Pre War

Aged 22 when he migrated to Australia having earlier having spent 4 years in the Canadian North West Territories.

Electoral Roll entries: 1916 - 1917 Cecil street, Victoria Park, letter carrier.

War Service

Sydney entered camp on 22 Jul 1915, and on 1 Aug 1915 he was posted to the 9th reinforcement draft for the 16th Battalion with whom he travelled to Egypt.

At Ismailia in Egypt on 9 Jan 1916, Sydney was taken on strength by the 16th Battalion from the reinforcement pool, but with the reorganisation of the Australian Imperial Force, he was transferred to the new 48th Battalion on 3 Mar 1916. Four Officers and 349 other ranks joined with him in making the change from the 16th to the 48th that day.

On 2 Jun 1916, along with the rest of the 48th Battalion he boarded the HMT Caledonia in Alexandria for Marseilles where they disembarked on 9 Jun 1916. Loaded into cattle trucks, 30 men per truck they were given 4 days rations to last the journey north to Hazebrouck. Their first taste of the front lines occurring nearing Fleurbaix.

There is no other entry in Sydney's military records before the entry noting his death on 11 Apr 1917. The RSL appear to have conducted a check of German POW camps and noted that he was not a POW in Germany.

• [[File:Villers_Bretonneux_Memorial.jpg|thumb|none|400px|Villers-Bretonneux Memorial]
• 

  Part of the 48th Battalion's panels

Notes

It is to be assumed that his presence on the Gosnells Memorial is based on his working in the district as he lived in Victoria Park.