| Place | Middle East: Ottoman Empire, Transjordan, Amman |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | REL/08598 |
| Collection type | Heraldry |
| Object type | Heraldry |
| Physical description | Bronze |
| Maker |
Unknown |
| Place made | United Kingdom: England, Greater London, London |
| Date made | 1920s |
| Conflict |
First World War, 1914-1918 |
Next of Kin plaque : Private S J Crozier, 6 Light Horse Regiment, AIF
Description
Circular bronze plaque, showing Britannia and the British lion in low relief. Beneath, the lion kills the German eagle. Around the edge are the words 'HE DIED FOR FREEDOM AND HONOUR'. There is a raised rectangle on the right of the plaque bearing the embossed name 'SYDNEY JAMES CROZIER'. The plaque is in its original cardboard case of issue.
History / Summary
759 Private Sydney James Crozier, was a 20 year old farm hand at Culcairn, NSW, when he enlisted in the AIF on 12 January 1915. After training in Australia he sailed for overseas service with the 1st Reinforcements to 12 Light Horse Regiment, aboard HMAT A40 Ceramic on 25 June 1915. Crozier saw service on Gallipoli and after this campaign, transferred to B Troop of B Squadron in 6 Light Horse Regiment. In this regiment he fought at Romani in 1916, where his brother, 930 Private Richard Walter Crozier was killed, and the three battles for Gaza in 1917.
Crozier was captured by the Turks on 28 March 1918 during the raid on Amman in the Transjordan. B Squadron was dismounted and ordered to advance about a mile, over fairly open country in the face of heavy Turkish machine gun fire. Many men were wounded and by the time the order was given to fix bayonets and go on, few were left standing. None of the men reached the objective and the 12 survivors, of whom 10 were badly wounded, were taken prisoner by the Turks and placed on a train near Amman. Three, including Crozier, died during the night and were buried in unmarked graves beside the railway track near Amman station.
A witness said that while Crozier was on the ground wounded a Turk had driven a bayonet between his shoulders. Despite this a fellow prisoner, Trooper Gannon, also from B Squadron, wrote 'I saw Crozier brought in [to the train]. He was very severely wounded. I thought he was dying. The Turks injected morphia, which I knew prevented him from suffering pain...I desire to emphasise that although his wounds were severe, the Turks treated him kindly and I know his end was painless.'