The AIF Project

Sydney Walter GIBSON

Regimental number1145
Place of birthMoe, Victoria
ReligionMethodist
OccupationPastry cook
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation18
Height6' 1"
Weight170 lbs
Next of kinDavid Gibson, c/o J W Murrell, Henty Street, Casterton, Victoria
Previous military serviceNil
Enlistment date17 September 1914
Place of enlistmentCasterton, Victoria
Rank on enlistmentPrivate
Unit name8th Battalion, 1st Reinforcement
AWM Embarkation Roll number23/25/2
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A32 Themistocles on 22 December 1914
Regimental number from Nominal Roll1176
Rank from Nominal RollPrivate
Unit from Nominal Roll8th Battalion
FateDied of wounds 3 May 1915
Place of burialNo known grave
Commemoration detailsThe Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli, Turkey

The Lone Pine Memorial, situated in the Lone Pine Cemetery at Anzac, is the main Australian Memorial on Gallipoli, and one of four memorials to men of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Designed by Sir John Burnet, the principal architect of the Gallipoli cemeteries, it is a thick tapering pylon 14.3 metres high on a square base 12.98 metres wide. It is constructed from limestone mined at Ilgardere in Turkey.

The Memorial commemorates the 3268 Australians and 456 New Zealanders who have no known grave and the 960 Australians and 252 New Zealanders who were buried at sea after evacuation through wounds or disease. The names of New Zealanders commemorated are inscribed on stone panels mounted on the south and north sides of the pylon, while those of the Australians are listed on a long wall of panels in front of the pylon and to either side. Names are arranged by unit and rank.

The Memorial stands over the centre of the Turkish trenches and tunnels which were the scene of heavy fighting during the August offensive. Most cemeteries on Gallipoli contain relatively few marked graves, and the majority of Australians killed on Gallipoli are commemorated here.

Panel number, Roll of Honour,
  Australian War Memorial
53
Other details

War service: Egypt, Gallipoli

Found guilty, 15 January 1915, of (1) breaking ship at Colombo, 13 January 1915: fined 50/-.

Found guilty, 12 February 1915, of neglecting to obey and order from an NCO, 11 February 1915: awarded 7 days confined to barracks and a working fatigue.

Embarked to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, Gallipoli, 5 April 1915.

Wounded in action (gun shot wound, hips), Gallipoli, 3 May 1915; died of wounds at sea, 3 May 1915; buried at sea between Alexandria and Gallipoli, 3 May 1915.

Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
SourcesNAA: B2455, GIBSON Sydney Walter

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