CLEARY, Michael
| Service Number: | 4117 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 October 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Lance Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 26th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Gatton, Queensland, Australia, 18 March 1894 |
| Home Town: | Gatton, Lockyer Valley, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 29 November 1953, aged 59 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Hemmant Cemetery and Crematorium, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Memorials: | Wooroolin Great War Pictorial Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Oct 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 4117, 21st Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 28 Mar 1916: | Involvement Private, 4117, 26th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Commonwealth embarkation_ship_number: A73 public_note: '' | |
| 28 Mar 1916: | Embarked Private, 4117, 26th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Commonwealth, Brisbane | |
| 2 Jun 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 69th Infantry Battalion (WW1) | |
| 18 Jan 1919: | Embarked AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 4117, 26th Infantry Battalion, per HT Ulysses to Melbourne | |
| 3 May 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 4117, 26th Infantry Battalion, Medically Unfit |
Lance Corporal Cleary Michael 4117 – 26 Battalion, 10th Reinforcement
Michael Cleary is listed on both the Wooroolin and Kingaroy WW1 Honour Boards and his photo is included on the South Burnett Anzac War Heros website. He was born in Gatton on 18 Mar 1894 the 4th child of Michael & Catherine Cleary.
Michael Cleary, 20 years old, enlisted in the Australian army on 20 Oct 1915 giving his mother, living at Gatton, as NOK. I guess he was working at Wooroolin to have been entered on the Wooroolin WW1 Honour Board but there is nothing in his Army records to indicate where.
Michael served in the 26th Battalion, 10th Reinforcement which embarked from Brisbane, Queensland, on board HMAT A73 Commonwealth on 28 March 1916. Nobel Richardson and John Preston also on the Wooroolin WW1 Honour board were in this unit.
In concert with the 28th Battalion, the 26th mounted the first trench raid undertaken by Australian troops on the Western Front on 6 June 1916. The Battalion fought in its first major battle around Pozieres between 28 July and 7 August. After a short spell in Belgium, the 2nd Division came south in October to attack again in the Somme Valley. The 26th Battalion took part in two attacks to the east of Flers, both of which floundered in mud and slush.
Michaels Army file is available on the NAA website and shows that he was transferred many times including a hospital stint at Wandsworth for a Hernia. I guess he was at the battle of Pozieres where young Victor Richardson lost his life.
Michael Cleary returned to Australia on 18 Jan 1919. I have been surprised to find how many Michael Cleary’s existed in Qld at that time. The first time I can accurately identify where he lived was in his Army files when he wrote a letter in 1927 saying he had lost his discharge papers at Nanango a couple of years ago. Michael married Mildred Rumble in 1926. She was recorded as living at the Fitzroy Hotel in Nanango in 1925 so guess that is where they met and married.
Michael Cleary died in Nov 1953 and is buried at Hemmant Cemetery and Crematorium where he joined his wife who died just 8 months prior.
Lest we Forget
Submitted 12 January 2023 by Carol Berry
Biography contributed by Chris Buckley
Private Michael Cleary (Service No:4117) enlisted in the AIF in October 1915. He served in France with 26th and 69th Infantry Battalions - he was promoted to Lance Corporal in 1917 - and was Discharged in May 1919.
The fourth of seven children, Michael Jnr was born in Gatton QLD in 1894 to Michael Cleary Snr (b1850 in County Galway, Ireland) and Catherine (Kate) Donohue (b1863 in Gatton, QLD). Michael Snr had emigrated in 1854, arriving on board the Stamboul with his parents and siblings. Michael Snr and Kate married in 1884 in Toowoomba, QLD and settled at Gatton on the Darling Downs where they raised their family and Michael Snr was a Farmer.
Michael was working as a Labourer in Gatton, QLD when he enlisted in the AIF in 1915, and returned to Gatton following his Discharge. He worked as a Labourer at the Gatton Agricultural College, and in 1926 in Brisbane QLD married Mildred Rundle (b1893 in Brisbane, QLD). Following their marriage, Michael and Mildred lived at the Railway Camp at Dulbolla in Beaudesert, QLD where Michael was a Labourer. In 1930 they moved to the Maroochy River at Yandina QLD where Michael was a Cane Grower. By the late 1930s Michael and Mildred had moved to Brisbane QLD and Michael worked as a Labourer. Mildred died in March 1953 and Michael in November 1953.
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