Before they both enlisted in 1915 Oswald Lewis and his older brother William played for Adamstown. On 30 November 1916, Private Oswald Lewis was admitted to a field hospital in France suffering from trench feet. He was transferred to England on 24 December 1916 and admitted to the 3rd Australian General Hospital where he had both legs amputated. He departed England on 5 May 1917 for his return to Australia. Tragically, a few days before his departure brother William died of pneumonia at a hospital in Salisbury, England.
On 4 August 1917 Oswald Lewis appeared on the front page of Melbourne’s The Herald newspaper with a group of disabled soldier. He was discharged from the AIF as medically unfit on 9 August 1917. Two days later the Newcastle Morning Herald reported, “In the game at Adamstown, between Adamstown and Wallsend Rovers, a collection will be taken up to help pay for a vehicle for Private Lewis, who recently returned from the front with his legs off. Lewis played for Adamstown Rosebuds before enlisting, and was a promising player.” Despite his wartime misfortune, Oswald Osprey lived to the age of 86. He died on 2 June 1981.