Studio portrait of Second Lieutenant (2nd Lt) Theodor Milton Pflaum, 8th Australian Machine Gun ...

Studio portrait of Second Lieutenant (2nd Lt) Theodor Milton Pflaum, 8th Australian Machine Gun Company. A clerk from Blumberg, South Australia, prior to enlistment in the 32nd Battalion as 327 Private (Pte) Blumberg, he embarked with C Company from Adelaide on 18 November 1915 aboard HMAT Geelong (A2) for Suez. He was transferred to the 8th Machine Gun Company on 30 May 1916 and promoted to Corporal (Cpl) the next day. His unit relocated the Western Front, France, during June 1916. Cpl Pflaum was promoted to Sergeant on 1 September 1916. On 10 February 1917 he was transferred to the AIF Training Depot in England and promoted to Second Lieutenant. While in England he was transferred to the 25th Australian Machine Gun Company and then attached to the 3rd Training Battalion for bombing instruction and to the Revolver School where he qualified as Instructor. He embarked with his unit from Southampton on 7 September 1917 for France and then to Belgium. 2nd Lt Pflaum was wounded in action near Ypres, Belgium, on 24 September 1917 and died of these wounds later that day. He was aged 22 years. His brothers 1591 Captain Elliott Frederick Pflaum, 3rd Light Horse Regiment, returned to Australia on 6 May 1919 and 161 Private Raymond Holstein Pflaum, 32nd Battalion died whilst a Prisoner of War on 24 November 1916. A third brother, Leonard Haddon Pflaum enlisted in late August 1918 but was discharged in December after the cessation of hostilities.