Portrait of 10 Sergeant (Sgt) Oscar Eric Baumann, 32nd Battalion. A joiner from Eastwood, South ...

Portrait of 10 Sergeant (Sgt) Oscar Eric Baumann, 32nd Battalion. A joiner from Eastwood, South Australia, prior to enlistment he was rapidly promoted to Sergeant based on his previous military service with the 74th Infantry Citizen Military Forces. He embarked from Adelaide onboard HMAT Geelong on 18 December 1915 for Egypt and from there sailed to Marseilles, arriving on 23 June 1916. Sgt Baumann was reported missing in action at Fleurbaix during the Battle of Fromelles and his death on 20 July 1916 was confirmed through the Red Cross in Geneva; he was 20 years old. After the war his grave could not be located and he was commemorated on the VC Corner Australian Cemetery Memorial, Fromelles, France. In 2008 a burial ground was located at nearby Pheasant Wood containing the bodies of 250 British and Australian soldiers including Sgt Baumann. All of the remains were reburied in the newly created Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery. At the time of the official dedication of the new cemetery on 19 July 2010, ninety-six of the Australians had been identified through a combination of anthropological, archaeological, historical and DNA information. Work is continuing on identifying the other remains relocated from the burial ground and buried in the new cemetery as unknown soldiers. Sgt Baumann is among those who have not been identified and his name will remain on the VC Corner Australian Cemetery Memorial.