Studio portrait of 611 Private (Pte) Marcus Strong Sargent, 32nd Battalion. A butcher from ...

Studio portrait of 611 Private (Pte) Marcus Strong Sargent, 32nd Battalion. A butcher from Naracoorte, South Australia, prior to enlistment, he embarked with B Company from Adelaide on 18 November 1915 aboard HMAT Geelong for Suez. The battalion relocated to the Western Front, France, during June 1916. Pte Sargent was promoted to Temporary Corporal on 20 July 1916, following the Battle of Fromelles, and then to Sergeant three months later. In January 1917 he was further promoted to Company Sergeant Major (CSM) with the rank of Warrant officer Class 2. CSM Sargent then attended No 2 Officer School at Cambridge, England, form early June to the end of September 1917, was appointed to a commission as a Second Lieutenant (2nd Lt) and then joined his battalion back on the Western Front near Dickebusch, Belgium. He attended an Infantry Course at the Australian Corps School from mid-January to late February 1918 and was promoted to Lieutenant (Lt) on 12 March 1918. Lt Sargent was wounded in action near Vaux-sur-Somme on 10 May 1918 and was evacuated to St John’s Ambulance Hospital, Etaples, where he died of these wounds on 26 May 1918. He was aged 31 years.