Born: 1 January 1889
Died: 9 June 1945
Wounded in action on 7 August 1915 while serving at Gallipoli with the 1st Australian Light Horse Regiment (1st ALH). The following describes the events of that day:
[F]rom Pope's Hill ... the 1st Australian Light Horse Brigade attacked Turkish positions on the Chessboard at dawn on the 7th August, 1915. Led by Major J M Reid, the ill fated attempt to capture the Chessboard trenches north of the Bloody Angle resulted in severe casualties. The 1st Light Horse Brigade reached the third line of Turkish trenches, but were forced to withdraw due to the strength of the counterattack. [Source: Australian War Memorial, C02705]
There were heavy casualties as a result of the attack, with the 1st ALH losing 15 killed, 98 wounded and 24 missing [1st ALH War Diary, August 1915].
He was evacuated from Gallipoli to Malta for treatment of compound fractures and wounds to both legs caused by a Turkish bomb (hand grenade). He was then sent, in September 1915, to England and then Wales for further treatment. He remained there until June 1916 when he embarked on the Euripides to return to Australia.
His brother Jack Davidson Oliver was wounded in the same action.
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