O'GRADY, Alexander
| Service Number: | 5193 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 1st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Bootle, Lancashire., 1891 |
| Home Town: | Sydney, City of Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 22 July 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 1 Apr 1916: | Involvement Private, 5193, 1st Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: SS Makarini embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Apr 1916: | Embarked Private, 5193, 1st Infantry Battalion, SS Makarini, Sydney |
Help us honour Alexander O'Grady's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Geoffrey Gillon
Alexander was the son of Thomas O'Grady and Mary (nee Power). He was baptised at St.James' R.C. Church, Bootle. His parents were both born at Liverpool and were married at the same church in 1890.
He had three siblings; Thomas (b 1893), Margaret (b 1896) and Norah (b 1901). Their father was a merchant seaman and was away from home at the time of both the 1891 and 1901 census.
Mary O'Grady was newly married and living at 20 Chaucer Street, Bootle in 1891. This was the home of her uncle Alexander Kennedy, a widowed rigger who was born in Scotland. Her ten year old cousin Leo Brewer was also a member of the household.
Mary and her three older children as well as her widowed mother, Honorah Power, were living at 1 Milton Street, Bootle. Honorah was born in Ireland.
By 1911 Thomas O'Grady senior had become a dock labourer. He and his wife were living at 21 Beresford Street, Bootle. Although the census return listed all four of their children only Margaret was living at home. Thomas O'Grady junior was a ship's scaler and boarding at 26 Audley Street, Bootle. Alexander and Margaret were boarding with the Mumford family at 4 Bala Street, Bootle along with their grandmother, Honorah Power, who gave her place of birth as County Tipperary, Ireland.
Alexander was a fireman in the merchant navy-usually referred to as the Mercantile Marine in WWI.. He was a labourer when he enlisted in the Australian Army at Liverpool, New South Wales on December 30th 1915.
He was 5ft 6 inches tall, weighed 165lbs, with a fair complexion, blue eyes and brown hair. He had a "Ship & Anchors" tattoo on his right forearm.
He embarked for Europe from Sydney aboard the SS Makarini on the 1st April 1916. He disembarked at Suez on the 2nd May. He then embarked on the 9th May to join the British Expeditionary Force from Alexandria, Egypt aboard the Caledonia arriving at Marseilles on the 17th May.
He reported at Etaples, France on the 20th May and proceeded to join his battalion in the field on the 10th June 1916.
Alexander was killed in action between the 22nd and 25th July 1916. He was buried in the vicinity of Pozieres.
His religion was Roman Catholic and his next of kin was his mother, Mary O'Grady, of 11 Johnstone Street, Bootle. By 1917, when his personal effects - namely his identity disc - were returned to his family they had moved to 14 Johnstone Street.
His mother was granted a pension of 5 Shillings per fortnight for two years, commencing 25th September 1916,
He is remembered on the Merseyside Roll of Honour.
His brother, Thomas O'Grady, died on 3rd March 1915 whilst serving aboard HMS New Zealand.