Samuel Benjamin Swenson (SN 2861) from Laurie Street in Ballarat, attended the Mt. Pleasant State School before becoming a tanner. He was 19 years of age when he enlisted with his mother’s consent on June 22nd 1915. On September 10th he left Australia on the Star of Victoria but his voyage was not without incident. While the date is not specified in his service record, it seems that while climbing down a ladder to a lower deck he fell injuring his hip. He joined the 6th Battalion in Egypt on January 7th 1916 but four days later he was hospitalised due to hip pain. The problem persisted and in May he was transferred to hospital in England suffering from neuritis and sciatica. After further assessment in England he was returned to Australia aboard the Karoola, reaching Melbourne on August 3rd. On October 29th 1916 he was discharged as medically unfit.