NEILSEN, Peter
| Service Number: | 112 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 16 December 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 11th Machine Gun Company |
| Born: | Lismore, New South Wales, Australia, 8 August 1887 |
| Home Town: | North Lismore, Lismore Municipality, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Wool presser |
| Died: | Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia, 18 November 1977, aged 90 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Nanango Cemetery, South Burnett - Queensland |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 16 Dec 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 112, 11th Machine Gun Company | |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Jun 1916: | Involvement Private, 112, 11th Machine Gun Company, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '21' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Borda embarkation_ship_number: A30 public_note: '' | |
| 5 Jun 1916: | Embarked Private, 112, 11th Machine Gun Company, HMAT Borda, Sydney | |
| 2 Jan 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 112, 11th Machine Gun Company, Armentieres (Epinette Section). "Wounded during enemy retaliation to our artillery shoot" (11th Btn diary). Gun shot wound Right hand & shoulder. Invalided to England and eventual discharge with return to Australia July 1917. | |
| 18 Jul 1917: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 112, 11th Machine Gun Company |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by jude Butwell
Peter "Pop" Neilsen was relatively old (28.5 years) when he joined up in December 1915. His two younger brothers had already enlisted which may have prompted his own call to arms. Originally meant for the 19/15th Reinforcements or 11th Depot Battalion, he trained with the 11th Machine Gun Company in Chermside, Brisbane from May 12 1916 before embarking on the Borda July 12 1916. His girlfriend, Ivy, was 6 months pregnant and the family feared that he would not survive, or, if he did, would abandon her.
The Company arrived in England via Alexandria where they undertook further training on the Salisbury Plain. In November 1916 they embarked for France, marching to Armentieres on 22 Dec 1916. As an older man, Pop would often sing "Mademoiselle from Armentieres", a popular dirty ditty, in memory of his time there. They entered the trenches on Christmas Eve, 1916, to support the Front Left Sector 2nd ANZACs, relieving the 9th Machine Gun Co.
On 2nd January, whilst firing the Lewis machine gun, Pop was wounded in the arm from hand to shoulder, the second man in the Co to be hit. The enemy had been retaliating for a prior artillery shoot. He was sent to the 10th Australian Field Ambulance and then the 14th General Hospital where his wound was considered serious enough to warrant repatriation to England. At the Colchester Military Hospital he underwent surgery to remove shrapnel however pieces remained in his hand, unable to be removed without endangering his health. In later life, Pop would show his grandchildren and great-children his inability to move his middle finger thanks to this shrapnel. It probably saved his life.
By 27 February 1917 he was admitted to the 2nd Australian Auxilliary Hospital which specialised in preparing Class C (permanently unfit for service) personnel for their return to Australia. On 3 March he was discharged to Weymouth for furlough before embarking on the Barambah to Australia in April. He arrived home in June 1917 and was officially discharged in July.
On his return he discovered that one of his younger brothers, Harry, had been killed in action (buried in the Hermies area) on 16 April 1917, whilst he was aboard ship. He also met his son, Gordon, who had been born in October 1916, and married Ivy in September 1917. They moved to Nanango, a small town in the South Burnett, QLD, where they raised a further six children.
In May 1942, at the age of 54, Pop re-enlisted for the 20th Battalion Volunteer Defence Corps, becoming a driver when needed. He lived until he was 89 years old.