Wyndham Treasure

Private

References:

CWGC

National Archives of Australia

NZ WAR GRAVES

CONTRIBUTED

Public Contributions:

Wyndham Treasure was born in Palmerston South New Zealand in 1885 to Mr. and Mrs. Richmond Treasure. He was educated in Invercargill and after leaving school he took up work as a storeman. He later m...oved to Western Australia and took up residence in 224 South Terrace Fremantle. Upon his arrival in Fremantle Wyndham secured employment as a storeman with the firm of J&W Bateman and fitted into the community well. He became good friends with many of the local families, with whom he worked, including the Kell’s and Reay’s in North Fremantle. With the outbreak of the Great war Wyndham tried to enlist early on but was knocked back as at the time he was suffering from varicose veins. However he was not put off and on the 1st November 1915 he tried again at the Francis Street Drill Hall in Perth. This time he was accepted as fit for service with the medical examiner finding that he was 5 feet 11 & ¼ inches tall; weight of 162 lbs; chest measurement of 36-40 inches; fresh complexion; grey eyes and black hair. His religious denomination was Church of England. Upon his successful enlistment Wyndham was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to No.55 Training Depot. On the 16th November 1915 Wyndham was transferred to the Signal School and he remained there for the rest of 1915. He was now qualified as a Signaller and on the 3rd January 1916 he was assigned to the 13th Reinforcements to the 11th Battalion AIF. He would only have two weeks to train with this group in WA as their embarkation orders soon arrived and on the 17th January 1916 they went aboard their transport ship HMAT Borda and set sail for Egypt. The journey took just over three weeks and the ship arrived at Suez on the 9th February 1916. After being disembarked the men were sent to the 3rd Training Battalion and Wyndham would remain there for the next month. On the 19th April 1916 Wyndham was taken on strength of the 51st Battalion AIF at Serapeum Camp. For the next six weeks Wyndham trained with this group in Egypt and at the end of May 1916 their embarkation orders arrived. The 51st Battalion then travelled to Alexandria where they went aboard the transport ship HMAT Ivernia. This ship set sail on June 5th and took them to France, arriving at Marseilles on the 12th June 1916. After being disembarked the men were marched through the city to the railway station where they boarded trains which took them to the Armentieres region of northern France. They were billeted among the local communities and Wyndham would have had his first taste of Western Front trench life in the Fleurbaix sector of the Western Front. The signallers were generally excused the fatigue duties of the normal infantryman but it would still have been a busy time for Wyndham as he became used to trench life. The 51st Battalion remained in Fleurbaix until mid July and during this time they suffered over 100 casualties from German shellfire. After being relieved from the front line by the 5th Division, the 51st Battalion as part of the 4th Division were moved south to the Somme battlefield. The Somme battle had commenced on July 1st for huge casualties for limited gain. The AIF were sent to the front and on July 23rd Pozieres was captured by the 1st Division AIF. The 2nd Division took over and then extended the advance and they in turn were relieved after a week by the 4th Division AIF. The 4th & 12th Brigades went into the line and had to endure a large German counter-attack which was repulsed. After this they went on the offensive and pushed the line forward towards Mouquet Farm. On August 15th the 51st Battalion attacked the Germans at Mouquet Farm in conjunction with the 13th & 50th Battalion’s. Unfortunately the attack was a failure and after the men withdrew to their line Wyndham did not appear and was posted as missing. A fellow signaller Private J.P. Cooney later stated that; “On the night of 14th August 1916 we went over the top together (we were both signallers) and when making the attack on Fritz’s trenches, we, in company with another signaller jumped into a big shell hole, but I must have known something and jumped out again. Just as I did a big bomb was thrown into the hole where Treasure was. I went back to see what had happened and noticed that they were badly blown about, their equipment was blown off and most of their clothes. I called to both of them but got no answer.” Wyndham Treasure was therefore listed as being killed in action on the 15th August 1916. His body was most likely covered over by soil from exploding shells and therefore he was never able to be given a known burial. He is therefore commemorated on the Villers-Bretoneux Memorial. His family in Ettrick Street Invercargill New Zealand were given the sad news and they would receive Wyndham’s personal effects and war medals. Read More

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Casualty

Service Number:

4350

Name:

Wyndham Treasure

Rank:

Private

Date of Birth:

16 February 1885

Place of Birth:

Otago, Palmerston,

Date of Enlistment:

11 August 1915

Occupation on Enlistment:

Storeman

Armed Force:

Army

Unit:

Australian Infantry, 51 Battalion

Casualty Details

Cause of Death:

Killed in action

Date of Death:

Not known

Embarkation Details

Text in italics supplied by Cenotaph Online, Auckland War Memorial Museum

Cemetery

Cemetery:

Villers-Bretonneux Memorial

Cemetery Location:

France