COLE, Lionel Nelson
| Service Number: | 155 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 15 September 1914, Melbourne, Vic. |
| Last Rank: | Trooper |
| Last Unit: | 8th Light Horse Regiment |
| Born: | Cobrico, Victoria, Australia, 1894 |
| Home Town: | Cobrico, Corangamite, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Died of wounds, At sea (HMHS Delta), 8 August 1915 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" The Lone Pine Memorial (Panel 6) |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Lone Pine Memorial to the Missing, Terang War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 15 Sep 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 155, 8th Light Horse Regiment, Melbourne, Vic. | |
|---|---|---|
| 25 Feb 1915: | Involvement Private, 155, 8th Light Horse Regiment, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '2' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Star of Victoria embarkation_ship_number: A16 public_note: '' | |
| 25 Feb 1915: | Embarked Private, 155, 8th Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Star of Victoria, Melbourne | |
| 26 May 1915: | Wounded AIF WW1, Trooper, 155, 8th Light Horse Regiment, ANZAC / Gallipoli, GSW to left hand (fractured) sustained in the line at Walker's Top. Evacuated to Lemnos. Rejoined unit 12 June 1915. | |
| 7 Aug 1915: | Wounded AIF WW1, Trooper, 155, 8th Light Horse Regiment, The August Offensive - Lone Pine, Suvla Bay, Sari Bair, The Nek and Hill 60 - Gallipoli, GSW to abdomen sustained during the charge at The Nek. Evacuated to HS Delta where he died of his wounds the next day and was buried at sea (8 August 1915). | |
| 8 Aug 1915: | Involvement Trooper, 155, 8th Light Horse Regiment, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 155 awm_unit: 8 Light Horse Regiment awm_rank: Trooper awm_died_date: 1915-08-08 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Lionel Cole enlisted the same day as his brother Dyson Cole in the 8th Light Horse Regiment. They were among the first Australians to enlist in 1914 and were given consecutive regimental numbers.
They were both mortally wounded in the infamous charge at the Nek on 7 August 1915. Charles Bean, the official WW1 historian said, "On no other occasion during the war did Australians have to face fire approaching in volume that which concentrated on The Nek.”
Dyson died from gunshot wounds to the chest aboard the hospital ship Delta. Lionel died of wounds, shot through the abdomen, on the same hospital ship a day later. Both were buried at sea and have no known graves.
Their mother had passed away in 1911, when Lionel was only 17 years of age. Their father William Cole of Cobrico, a still tiny town near Cobden, Victoria, died in 1918.
Three more brothers served with the Light Horse Brigades, 1544 Pte Alywin Cole and 88 Pte Nicholas Robert Cole served in the 4th Light Horse Regiment. 485 Pte Ernest Cole, served with the 1st Light Horse Regiment at Gallipoli from May 1915 and the Middle East till late 1918 when he was returned to Australia on special 1914 leave.