CAREY, Mervyn Laurence
| Service Number: | 24385 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 22 July 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Driver |
| Last Unit: | 3rd Division Medium and Heavy Trench Mortar Batteries |
| Born: | Sheffield, Tasmania, Australia, 3 May 1895 |
| Home Town: | West Kentish, Kentish, Tasmania |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 16 September 1917, aged 22 years |
| Cemetery: |
The Huts Cemetery, Dickebusch, Belgium Plot IV, Row D, Grave No 19. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Kentish Municipality Honour Roll Mural, Sheffield War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 22 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Gunner, 24385, 3rd Divisional Ammunition Column | |
|---|---|---|
| 27 Jun 1916: | Involvement Gunner, 24385, 3rd Divisional Ammunition Column, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '22' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Barambah embarkation_ship_number: A37 public_note: '' | |
| 27 Jun 1916: | Embarked Gunner, 24385, 3rd Divisional Ammunition Column, HMAT Barambah, Melbourne | |
| 21 Apr 1917: | Transferred AIF WW1, Driver, 3rd Division Medium and Heavy Trench Mortar Batteries | |
| 16 Sep 1917: | Involvement Driver, 24385, Third Ypres, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 24385 awm_unit: 23A Medium Trench Mortar Battery Australian Field Artillery awm_rank: Driver awm_died_date: 1917-09-16 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Mervyn Carey enlisted in the AIF three weeks after his father John Carey passed away in West Kentish during 1915. His widowed mother, Mary Ann Carey, lived in West Kentish, Tasmania for over 50 years and died during 1935.
Mervyn’s older brother 158 Sergeant Norman Samuel Carey 40th Battalion AIF was also killed in action on 28 March 1918, aged 29.
Mervyn contracted meningitis just after he enlisted and was sent home, where for several weeks he was reported to be in a very precarious condition. As a result, he did not embark until June 1916, almost 12 months after he enlisted.
A report was published in the local newspaper regarding the late Private Carey not long after his death,
“Mrs. M. A. Carey, of West Kentish, has received several letters from the officers commanding the unit in which his son, Laurence, was serving when he met with his death. The following extract is from a letter received from Captain W. L. Fanning: ''I am, indeed, sorry to inform you of the death of your son, Laurence. He was killed by a bomb wound in the head on September 16. I was standing near him at the time, and so was the medical officer, who immediately went to him, but, alas, death was instantaneous; he did not suffer at all. He did not belong to my unit, but was attached to the trench mortars, and had only been with me for two days, so I have no personal knowledge of his services. His own O.C., however, tells me that your son's record is a splendid one, and that during the eight months he was in the trenches his work was excellent. Our own padre, Chaplain Morsehead, conducted the service, and as many of your son's comrades as was possible attended. The bugler sounded 'The Last Post.' Laurence was a fine soldier, and greatly beloved by his comrades. The writer then gives the location of the deceased soldier's grave, with the map reference of the district, in order that any friends of the fallen soldier may be informed. Another letter is from Lieut. L. G. Clarke, who, after informing Mrs. Carey of her son's death, and expressing his sympathy, goes on to say: ''Your son had been under my command for some considerable time, and I had noticed that, in addition to being a must cheerful and energetic worker, he always conducted himself like a gentleman; he was must popular among his comrades.”
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