Identity
Person No.
12840
Service No.
5616
Last Name
First Name
William Oswald
Initials
W O
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
Age at Death
19
Death Record
Date of Death
Cause code
KIA 14,779
Killed in action
Cause of Death
Killed in action. On the 12th October 1916, the 2nd and 4th S.A.I. attacked Snag and Tail Trenches. The assault died away because of machine guns nests, placed well back in prepared positions, which caught the attacking waves at long range
Military Service
Location
Country
Locality
Cemetery
Grave Reference
Coordinates
Memorial
Memorial
Location
Pinetown Library grounds, Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal
Address
Coordinates
Panel
On the panel
Position on the panel will be added with photographs
Notes
Son of Henry Charles and Jane Lake, of Umkomaas, Natal. On Pinetown, Kwazulu Natal Memorial. His brother also died on service
Research notes
Delville Wood Rollcall (delvillewood.com): confirmed present in the SA Brigade's ranks 14/15 July 1916 -- "Private William Oswald LAKE, 2nd SAI - Killed in action in front the Butte de Warlencourt on the 12th October 1916 (Warlencourt British Cemetery)"
13 Sep 2026: Possible identification with the Wayside Cross, Pinetown's "Lake W. -- Pte, Durban Light Infantry" -- unit conflicts with this record's 2nd Regt.; the Pinetown research gives no date to check. Not resolved.
Citations
Unknown
External References
-
Delville Wood Rollcall (delvillewood.com)
open source ↗
Private William Oswald LAKE, 2nd SAI - Killed in action in front the Butte de Warlencourt on the 12th October 1916 (Warlencourt British Cemetery)
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K.M. Jordan — DLI research (ABW / WWI ROH)
K.M. Jordan, Durban Light Infantry: WWI Roll of Honour ("Work in Progress" draft, July/Aug 2026; email to John/Bobby, 3 Sep 2026). Local file data/jordan_dli_wwi_roh_2026-08.pdf (Downloads: "1. Durban Light Infantry WWI ROH - July, Aug 2026.pdf"). WWI ROH #81. Private LAKE, William Oswald, age 19, Force No 5616, 1st South African Infantry Brigade: Born Mount Edgecombe, Colony of Natal 16/10/1896; baptised Pinetown 27/9/1898; a clerk with the SAR&H before enlistment; served with the Durban Light Infantry in GSWA 1914-1915; served with the 2nd Regiment in France; killed in action in an unsuccessful attack on German defensive lines in front of the Butte-de-Warlencourt, Somme, France. (Body never found.) Buried/commemorated: Warlencourt British Cemetery, Somme, France. (Also, on the Durban Light Infantry; the Wayside Cross, Pinetown; the SAR&H in Durban & Bloemfontein railway Stations & the Durban Cenotaph WWI Memorials.)
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Pinetown Roll of Honour (Pinetown Museum)
Pinetown Roll of Honour (Pinetown Museum), Wayside Cross
- South African War Graves Project open source ↗
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Dedications
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