Michael Joseph ENGLISH

ENGLISH, Michael Joseph

Service Number: 4311
Enlisted: 13 October 1915, Brisbane, Queensland
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: 9th Infantry Battalion
Born: Mackay, Queensland, 13 September 1885
Home Town: Mackay, Mackay, Queensland
Schooling: Mackay Convent School and Nudgee College
Occupation: Chemist
Died: Died of Wounds, Etaples, France, 5 September 1916, aged 30 years
Cemetery: Etaples Military Cemetery
Grave X B14, Etaples Military Cemetery, Etaples, Nord Pas de Calais, France
Memorials: Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Mackay Cenotaph, Mackay Old Town Hall Honour Roll, Queenton State School Roll of Honour
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World War 1 Service

13 Oct 1915: Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 4311, Brisbane, Queensland
3 Jan 1916: Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 4311, 9th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Kyarra embarkation_ship_number: A55 public_note: ''
3 Jan 1916: Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 4311, 9th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Kyarra, Brisbane
22 Aug 1916: Wounded Private, 4311, 9th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , Shell wound (left arm)

Help us honour Michael Joseph English's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.

Biography contributed by Paul O'Neill

Michael Joseph English (Enlisted as William Inglis) 4311 he died in the First Canadian General Hospital, Etaples, France on 5 September 1916 from wounds suffered in the assault on Mouquet Farm near Pozieres, 22 August, 1916. Michael served in the AIF under the alias, William Inglis. Michael had married Irene Davies just one month before their daughter Hilda was born in December 1916. Family difficulties associated with this sudden wedding may well have been the reason Michael enlisted under an assumed name. Hilda died in 2012 aged 96. She and her mother had a positive relationship with the English family after Michael’s death. The family paid for Hilda’s education and she and Irene are known to have visited the English family in Mackay after the war.

Michael is buried in Etaples Military Cemetery, Grave reference XB14. Michael’s brother, John, who enlisted in 1916, visited his grave in early 1917 while his unit was billeted nearby.

Michael was a qualified chemist who worked in the Friendly Society Pharmacy in Brisbane prior to the War. He was educated at Nudgee College, Brisbane and the Mackay Convent. Sadly we cannot find a photo of Michael in uniform.

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Biography contributed by Sharyn Roberts

NOTE: Enlistment was completed under an assumed name - William INGLIS. This was contested and verfied through Military channels and all details are contained within the official Service Record. Listing on the Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour is under the corrected name not the assumed name.

The Family and Given Names on this site have been amended to Michael Joseph ENGLISH  and now accord with the corrected names within the Service Record and the AWM Honor Roll listing.  Virtual WAr Memorial Chief Moderator, August 2016.

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