4350 Private Sidney George Jose - 30th Battalion AIF
Sidney George Jose was born in Fremantle in 1894 to David and Margaret Jose, he was one of nine siblings, with Fanny born 1881, William 1882, Percy 1885, Ernest 1886, Horace 1890, Harold 1892, Doris 1898 and Ilma 1902. The family lived at 173 South Street South Fremantle. (later renumbered to 71 South Street)
Sidney was educated at Beaconsfield State School and after leaving school Sidney took up work as a clerk. Sidney had seen service with the cadets while at school and also the 35th Fortress Company Australian Engineers of the Citizens Military Forces.
Sidney's older brother William had enlisted early in the war and was killed at Gallipoli in 1915. Sidney enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force in Fremantle on the 30th May 1917. He was accepted as fit for service, with the medical examiner recording his physical attributes as;
Height - 5 feet 6 inches tall;
Weight - 140lbs;
Chest Measurement - 32-35 inches;
Complexion - Fresh;
Eyes - Brown;
Hair - Brown.
After his successful enlistment Sidney was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to the 12th Reinforcements to the 2nd Australian Pioneer Battalion. This group was sent to Victoria to complete their training and they embarked from Port Melbourne on the 30th October 1917 aboard the transport ship Aeneas. After the long sea voyage the ship arrived at Devonport Harbour on the 27th December 1917.
After being disembarked Sidney and his group were sent to the Pioneer Training Battalion at Sutton Veny. On the 2nd January 1918, Sidney was sent to the 15th Training Battalion and was told that he would be sent to the 32nd Battalion. Sidney would train here for the next few months. On the 24th March 1918 his stay in England was lengthened when he was sent to the 5th Division Signal School.
Sidney remained in England till July 1918, he was then sent to France, arriving at Le Havre on the 31st July 1918. He only had a few days here in the base depot camp and was taken on strength of the 30th Battalion on the 4th August 1918. He joined the 30th Battalion just in time to take part in the August 8th advance from Villers-Bretonneux.
He would be in action with his unit for the next several weeks as they advanced seeing action at Peronne and Bellicourt. In October 1918 the 30th Battalion was pulled out of the line and sent for a well deserved rest period. They were still out of the line when the Armistice was announced on the 11th November 1918.
Once the Germans had withdrawn to behind their own borders, the Australian were sent into what had been German occupied parts of Belgium and France. Sidney remained with the 30th Battalion through to May 1919. He was then returned to England and was sent into Camp at Weymouth. On the 1st June 1919 Sidney boarded the troopship Somali and set sail for home, reaching Fremantle on the 8th July 1919.
Sadly, Sidney's father died the day before the ship returned to Fremantle.
Sidney was discharged from the AIF on the 7th August 1919. While he had been away at the war his family had left South Street, and Sidney went to live at a boarding house at 277 High Street and resumed his employment as a Clerk. He was working with the Wool Department of Dalgety and Company Ltd.
By 1925 Sidney was now living at 189 Wray Avenue Fremantle (later 97 Wray), living with his sister Fanny and her husband.
Sidney died on the 9th December 1937 aged 43. He was buried at Fremantle Cemetery Plot Congregational MONDD 0006.
