SHANAHAN, Patrick John
| Service Number: | 5425 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 18 February 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1) |
| Born: | Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, 6 December 1889 |
| Home Town: | Perth, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Clerk, Tram Conductor |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 31 August 1916, aged 26 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France, |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Kings Park Western Australia State War Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 18 Feb 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 5425, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1) | |
|---|---|---|
| 17 Apr 1916: | Involvement Private, 5425, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Aeneas embarkation_ship_number: A60 public_note: '' | |
| 17 Apr 1916: | Embarked Private, 5425, 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1), HMAT Aeneas, Fremantle |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by John Oakes
Patrick John SHANAHAN (Service Number 5425) was born on 6th December 1889 in Adelaide. He began working with the NSW Tramways on 3rd February 1912 as a conductor in Sydney. He remained in this position until he was granted leave to join the AIF. He enlisted on 18th February 1916 and embarked from Fremantle on HMAT A60 ‘Aeneas’ on 17th April 1916.
On 7th June 1916 he embarked from Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Forces. He disembarked shortly after on 14th June, at Marseilles. He was taken on strength of the 16th Battalion on 21st July. Just over a month later, he was found to be missing on 31st August 1916. At a Court of Enquiry held on 4th April 1917 he was reported to have been killed in action on the date he went missing.
One of his comrades recounted:
‘… he… went over in the charge and was a little to the left of me. I heard him shout out “I’m hit”. But he seemed to go ahead again. I lost sight of him after and being night, it was difficult to see any distance. I never heard what became of him’.
He has no known grave and is commemorated at Villers-Bretonneux Memorial in France.
Following his death, his brother was sent his war medals. He was sent the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.