COLLINS, Peter Joseph
| Service Number: | 3039 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Driver |
| Last Unit: | 53rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Yass, New South Wales, Australia, 1883 |
| Home Town: | Redfern, City of Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Tram Conductor |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 30 September 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
Tincourt New British Cemetery Plot V, Row F, Grave No. 23 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Dec 1915: | Involvement Private, 3039, 17th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Suevic embarkation_ship_number: A29 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Dec 1915: | Embarked Private, 3039, 17th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Suevic, Sydney | |
| 30 Sep 1918: | Involvement Driver, 3039, 53rd Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 3039 awm_unit: 53rd Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Driver awm_died_date: 1918-09-30 |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
Peter Joseph COLLINS, (Service Number 3039) was born near Yass in 1883. In 1909 he joined the Tramways in Sydney as a conductor and was released from duty to join the AIF in Sydney in November 1915.
On 1 March 1917 he was arrested by military police and charged with refusing to show his pass, drunkenness, and resisting his escort, at a hotel in Waterloo Road, London. He pleaded not guilty to the first and third charges, but, after 19 days in custody, at a court martial on 20 March he was found guilty of all three charges and sentenced to 30 days ‘Field Punishment No. 2’ and to forfeit 49 days’ pay.
Submitted 5 June 2023 by John Oakes
Biography contributed by John Oakes
Peter Joseph COLLINS, (Service Number 3039) was born near Yass in 1883. In 1909 he joined the Tramways in Sydney as a conductor. He was released from duty to join the AIF in Sydney in November 1915.
He embarked from Sydney in December 1915 and joined a training battalion in Egypt in early 1916. He transferred from the infantry to artillery in the next month. He was sent to France in August. Then he returned to the infantry. He became ill and was sent to hospital January 1917. He was treated for myalgia, rheumatism and trench fever. He was transferred to the Beaufort War Hospital in Bristol, England, at the end of the month. He was discharged, on leave, in February.
On 1st March he was arrested by the military police and charged with refusing to show his pass, drunkenness, and resisting his escort. This was at a hotel in Waterloo Road, London. He pleaded not guilty to the first and third charges. However, after 19 days in custody, at a court martial on 20th March he was found guilty of all three charges and sentenced to 30 days ‘Field Punishment No. 2’ and to forfeit 49 days’ pay.
After his return to duty, he was sent back to France in October 1917. In April 1918 he was gassed and spent a month recovering. He joinied his unit in July. On 30th September 1918 he was killed in action. He is buried in Tincourt New British Cemetery, 4¼ miles E of Péronne.
- based on notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board