Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

"...Captain Francis (Frank) Moran who was originally Area Officer, Area 6B, 8th Battalion, AMF. He enlisted in the 15th Battalion, AIF, on 23 September 1914 and landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. He was wounded on 5 August 1915 and died of wounds on 20 August 1915 at sea near Gallipoli." - SOURCE (www.awm.gov.au)

"HEROES OF THE DARDANELLES. DEATH OF CAPTAIN FRANK MORAN.

The Defence authorities (through the Rev. Father Barry) have advised the relatives of Captain Frank Moran that he was wounded in the left shoulder, and died on a transport ship on August 20, and was buried at sea. He was 34 years of age. The late officer was well and favourably known in Brisbane as the area officer at Red Hill. Before coming to Brisbane he was area officer at Bundaberg, having left the Royal Bank to take up that position. Some 14 years ago he went to the South African war as a lieutenant This time he went with the second contingent, and was captain of B Company, 15th Battalion. He was the youngest son of the late Dr. Moran, and his mother resides in Brisbane. The sad news will be learned with the deepest regret by every trainee in the area in which he was formerly officer. Bright and happy in disposition, nothing was too much trouble for him where the welfare of the senior cadets was concerned, and they all loved and respected him. Some time before the war commenced he initiated a scheme for providing a recreation hall and model miniature rifle range for the boys, and conducted a motor car art union for this purpose, the profit from which formed the nucleus of the fund. He led the Grammar School Cadets to victory in the last big competition amongst cadets - a victory largely gained by reason of his ability to infuse into others the enthusiasm which he always displayed himself in all military matters. With the other brave soldiers of the King who have given their lives for the men, women, and children in this sunny land, he can ill be spared, for he was in all respects a hero and gentleman." - from the Brisbane Courier 03 Sep 1915 (nla.gov.au)

"DEATH OF CAPTAIN MORAN, BUNDABERG.

Mrs. Dr. Luther, Bundaberg, received a telegram from Miss Moran, Brisbane, stating that her brother, Captain Frank Moran (Area Officer, 6B) had been killed in action at the Dardanelles. Captain Moran was well and popularly known in Bundaberg. He was area Officer in charge of the local cadets for a couple of years, prior to Captain Kelleher taking charge. He was recently reported wounded, but returned to the firing line on his recovery." - from the Maryborough Chronicle 04 Sep 1915 (nla.gov.au)

Captain MORAN Francis (Frank)                                15th Battalion
 
Frank Moran was born at Springsure (Q) on 27th June 1877. Frank’s father was a doctor at the Springsure Hospital. Frank’s sister when completing the Roll of Honour Circular stated that Frank had been privately educated, perhaps by a governess when young and then at a private college. Frank secured employment with the Royal Bank (a forerunner to the Bank of Queensland). The Royal Bank had branches throughout rural Queensland and it is likely that Frank was working for a time in the Royal Bank at Esk or Lowood. Frank had joined a militia battalion and when the Commonwealth Government announced that a contingent of Commonwealth Horse would be raised and sent to the South African war, he enlisted on 1st May 1902 as a Lieutenant. The 7th Commonwealth Horse departed Queensland in June 1902 but by the time they arrived in Durban, the war had ended. The troops returned to Australia.
 
Frank returned to his occupation of bank clerk but then became the Australian Army Area Officer in the Wide Bay Region and then later in Brisbane. His role as area officer was to deal mainly with the senior cadet scheme that had been introduced as part of compulsory military training. Soon after the outbreak of war, Frank presented himself for officer candidacy. He was drafted into the 15th Battalion as a Lieutenant and reported to the Brisbane Exhibition Grounds where the battalion was being raised before proceeding to Enoggera. Most of the men recruited into the 15thhad no previous military training and the battalion commander would have welcomed an officer who had experience of training recruits.
 
The 15th Battalion was commanded by Lt. Col. W. H. (Bull) Cannan, a career officer with the Citizens Forces before the war. The 15th Battalion was primarily composed of Queenslanders with one company being Tasmanians. The remainder of the 4th Brigade was made up of battalions from NSW, Victoria and a combined West Australian / South Australian battalion. Given that the brigade was made up of such widely distributed units, training in their home states was cut short and the brigade assembled in Melbourne under the Brigade Commander Colonel John Monash before embarking on the “Ceramic” for Egypt on 22nd December 1914. Frank Moran had been promoted to the rank of Captain six days before sailing and he was then in charge of a company of about 250 men.
The battalion arrived in Egypt on 3rd February 1915 and went into camp at Heliopolis outside Cairo. The first contingent of Australians had been in Egypt for two months and had been formed into an Australian Corps. The later arrivals were combined with a number of New Zealand units into a second corps, which was given the telegraphic code “ANZAC”. Training in the desert continued through February and March. On the 12th April 1915, the 4th Brigade travelled by train to Alexandria where they boarded a transport bound for Mudros Harbour on the island of Lemnos. The troops of the 15th remained on board their transports, practising boarding boats and horse barges. On the morning of the 25th April, the 15th Battalion boarded the “Minnewaska” and sailed for the Gallipoli peninsula. The ship stood off shore at Cape Helles observing the British landings there before sailing north to the vicinity of Gaba Tepe. The landing on the beach at Gallipoli on 25th April began at 4:40am by troops of the 3rd Brigade. The 4th Brigade did not begin landing until 5:00pm; by which time the Australians had advanced to the second ridge.
 
Monash took his brigade up a deep gully, which was later named Monash Valley, towards a precarious position at the head of the gully which would eventually be named Quinn’s post after the commander of C Company of the 15th. Quinn’s Post was the furthest forward position occupied on the first day and remained so throughout the campaign. The trenches at Quinn’s were right on the edge of an escarpment and only a few metres from the Turkish positions. Any counter attacks mounted by the Turks would be aimed at Quinn’s.
 
While still struggling to hold the position at Quinn’s, Frank was wounded in the thigh by a Turkish bullet from a sniper on 2nd May. He was evacuated from Anzac Cove to the hospital ship “Devanha” and taken to Cairo for treatment. After discharge from hospital, Frank returned to Gallipoli on 1st June. The situation at Anzac in June and July had not progressed any further than the positions reached on the first day back in April.
 
Birdwood, the British Commander at Anzac, was under some pressure to secure a breakthrough to the heights above the beach-head. The ultimate goal was the commanding hill named Chunuk Bair and in early August, a series of coordinated attacks was planned to drive the Turks from the high ground.  The first of these offensives was the attack on Lone Pine by battalions of the 1st Brigade of the AIF. Lone Pine was followed by a second landing of British troops at Suvla and the disastrous charges by the 3rd Light Horse Brigade at the Nek. The main offensive, timed to coincide with the Suvla landing, was planned for the northern sector of the Anzac beachhead which entailed an advance at night north along the beach road before turning inland to scale a series of ridges towards the heights of Hill 971 also known as Sari Bair. The 4th Brigade would be part of this action which began on the night of 7th August.
 
As was often the case at Anzac, the planning did not live up to expectations and the 4th Brigade soon found themselves lost in the dark in a bewildering tangle of gullies; primarily due to a reliance on Greek guides who communicated through a Greek Interpreter rather than the maps which had been issued. The 15th Battalion War Diary records that officers in charge of companies, like Capt Frank Moran, found communication back to battalion HQ extremely difficult. The Battalion Commander, Cannan, observed that the ground over which his men were fighting was “suitable to the enemy while presenting natural obstacles to ourselves who were much fatigued.”
 
It was soon apparent that no advance could be made and the Battalion Commander of the 15th, Lieutenant Colonel James Cannan acting on the advice of the Brigadier ordered a withdrawal. The battalion war diary records that during the 7th/ 8th August, eight officers were wounded and eight officers were missing. Among the missing was Cannan’s elder brother, Captain Duncan Cannan. Among the wounded was Captain Frank Moran. Frank had received a gunshot wound to his right shoulder on the night of the 7th August and had to be transported by stretcher back to the starting point at North Beach. The next morning, Frank was evacuated to the hospital ship “Valdivia” which was at anchor off Anzac Cove. When the seriousness of Frank’s wounding was assessed, he was transferred to a larger and better equipped ship, the “Aquitania.” The shoulder wound was severe and in spite of ministrations by medical staff, Frank died of his wounds, probably blood loss and shock, on 20th August 1915. He was 38 years old. As was the usual practice, Captain Francis Moran was buried at sea.
 
Eventually, Frank’s personal effects; which in the case of officers included all uniform items and clothing, was despatched to Ellen Moran in a leather trunk and woven cane valise. Ellen was living in a boarding house in Brisbane at the time. Frank’s kit even included his sword and scabbard, a silver toothpick and a folding chair. Ellen Moran was granted a pension of £26 a year but this was soon increased to £3/17/6d per fortnight.
Francis Moran has no known grave. His name appears on the Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli which lists 960 Australians and 250 New Zealanders who were buried at sea off Anzac Cove in 1915. Francis’ only listing on an Australian War Memorial is at the Australian War Memorial and at Esk, Queensland.