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Bosma, Henry John William

Date of birth:
January 15th, 1891 (Amsterdam, the Netherlands)
Date of death:
August 25th, 1916 (Warloy/Somme, France)
Buried on:
Commonwealth War Cemetery Warloy-Baillon
Plot: VII. Row: D. Grave: 52.
Nationality:
Australian (1901-present, Federal Monarchy)

Biography

Henry John William Bosma was born in the Netherlands and left Hr. Ms. De Rijter when is was in Australia. During the First World War he served at the Western Front.

Career:
?: Koninklijke Marine;
?: Pantserschip Hr. Ms De Ruijter;
juli 1915: First Australian Imperial Force.

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Period:
First World War (1914-1918)
Rank:
Private
Unit:
10th Battalion, 3rd Australian Infantry Brigade, 1st Australian Division, Australian Army
Recommendation:
"On 25th July, on the occasion of the capture of Poziéres, an attack was made by the enemy on a trench occupied by a Lewis M.G. in which Pte Bosma was working. The attack was repulsed but a sniper was left behind and accounted for 7 of our men, prevented the gun from being used, and also prevented all observation fro our trench. Pte Bosma crawled out of the trench and over 60 yards of open ground in broad daylight and killed the sniper with a bomb. He then returend to our trench and continued to work his gun with the upmost coolness."
Military Medal (MM)
Recommendation:
"At Poziéres on 22 August, Lance Corporal Bosma was in charge of a Lewis Machine Gun which was posted in an old German gun emplacement about 50 metres in advance of our firing line in No Man's Land. With great gallantry L/Cpl Bosma crwaled out a further distance of 20 metres in order to shoot a sniper who had continued to herass the M.G. team for some hours. He succeeeded in killing the sniper and returned to his gun. The gun which Bosma was in charge of was posted to protect our richgt flank, and it was quite impossible to work the gun until the sniper in question was settled. Bosma was subsequently badly wounded."

Sources

  • - Brons 96, November 2020

Photo