OSBORNE, Denis
(Service number 15955)
| First Rank | Rifleman | Last Rank | Captain |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 29/12/1893 | Place of Birth | St Enoder, Cornwall, England |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | 11 Fritz Street, Timaru | ||
| Occupation | Ironworker | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | |||
| Next of Kin | Mrs F. OSBORNE (mother), Indian Queens, Cornwall, England | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Rifle Brigade | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 6th Reinforcements, 3rd Battalion, G Company | ||
| Date | 26 July 1916 | ||
| Transport | Waitemata or Ulimaroa | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | ||
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | |||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | |||
Award Circumstances and Date
For Acts of Gallantry in the Field, 14 May 1918
Prisoner of War Information
| Date of Capture | |
|---|---|
| Where Captured and by Whom | |
| Actions Prior to Capture | |
| PoW Serial Number | |
| PoW Camps | |
| Days Interned | |
| Liberation Date |
Death
| Date | 17 July 1989 | Age | 95 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Beaconville Nursing Home, Ivybridge, Devon | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | |||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Denis Osborne was the older son of Alfred (Fred) and Laura (née Minnear) Osborne, of Cornwall, England. He was at home with his family at St Enoder, Cornwall, in 1901 and 1911, working as a clay labourer in 1911. He was living in Timaru when he enlisted for World War I. Lance-Corporal Denis Osborne, 15955, was awarded the Military Medal on 14 May 1918, for Acts of Gallantry in the Field. Denis was discharged in 1919 in England – to “devoran”, Indian Queens, Cornwall. He married Marion Mitchell in 1922 in Cornwall. In 1939 Denis and Marion and their daughter were living at St Austell, Cornwall, Denis a mason and smallholder. Margaret Grace Osborne, a sister of Denis, came out to New Zealand, returned to England and in 1917 married William Moyse Hocking, of Cornwall too, who had also been in New Zealand, residing in Timaru. William too served with the New Zealand Forces. Marion and William came back to Timaru and died there. The Methodist Church of Timaru placed a handsome window in the Bank Street Church as a memorial for the war victims of the congregations. Apart from the names of the fallen appearing on the window, the names of all who served were inscribed in a book which was to be preserved in the Church. Included in the names were those of Dennis Osborne and William Moyse Hocking. Given the parallels between Denis’ occupation and his mother’s address in 1916 and the occupations of Willie, Edwin and Harry Osborne and their address in 1911, one wonders if Denis was related to the Osborne brothers in Timaru.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [12 December 2016]; 1901, 1911 census returns England (ancestry.com.au) [24 March 2020]; 1939 Register (ancestry.com.au) [24 March 2020]; New Zealand Times, 27 May 1918, Timaru Herald, 5 July 1922 (Papers Past) [March 2020]
External Links
Related Documents
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Researched and Written by
Teresa Scott, SC branch NZSG
Currently Assigned to
Not assigned.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.