MCCORMACK, James
| Service Numbers: | 1069A, 1069 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 July 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 31st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Sligo, Ireland, February 1883 |
| Home Town: | Paddington, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Petrie Terrace State School, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Accidental, 61st Casualty Clearing Station , France, Argoeuves, Amiens, Picardie, France, 7 June 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
Vignacourt British Cemetery, Picardie Plot III, Row D, Grave No. 15, Vignacourt British Cemetery, Vignacourt, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ithaca War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1069A, 31st Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Nov 1915: | Involvement Private, 1069, 31st Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '16' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Wandilla embarkation_ship_number: A62 public_note: '' | |
| 9 Nov 1915: | Embarked Private, 1069, 31st Infantry Battalion, HMAT Wandilla, Melbourne | |
| 12 Nov 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 1069A, 31st Infantry Battalion, GSW left arm | |
| 7 Jun 1918: | Involvement Private, 1069A, 31st Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 1069A awm_unit: 31st Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1918-06-07 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
From Kieran McCarthy
Wild Colonial Boys
1069A Pvt James McCormack
240 Pvt Patrick Kelly
Labourers James “Sandy” McCormack (b. Co. Sligo 1883) & Patrick “Paddy” Kelly (b. Ipswich Q 1886) enlisted in Brisbane on 20.7.1915. Both were single men. They were allocated to 31st Bn, & served together in 3 Platoon A Coy until 1918. They would fight at Fromelles one year to the day they said goodbye to their mothers, at Given Terrace and Great George Street.
Before Fromelles, though, the mates saw plenty of other action, both going AWL almost on arrival in Egypt in February 1916, & being charged for drunkenness on post in April. There were other infractions Sandy’s part, insubordination being but one.
The 31st went into the AIF’s first major action in France suffering 567 casualties (over half its strength) in 12 hours. Paddy suffered GSW to the chest & legs and was evacuated to the UK. Sandy followed in December 1916, contracting severe bronchitis at the Front during the notorious Somme Winter, but only after going AWL again in November.
The mates clocked up 21 days AWL in England between them before reuniting in a training battalion (the 69th) & going AWL together again for four days in July 1917.
Both returned to the 31st in October were wounded ( GSW arms) during a night patrol on 11.12.17 in No Man’s Land near Warneton, Belgium, again returning to England for treatment.
Sandy went AWL in April 1918 before returning to his unit at the end of May, as the 31st was coming out of the line after a record 53 days near Villers-Bretonneux. While in camp at Rivery, Sandy broke bounds for the last time on 5 June 1918.
Paddy, who at the time was AWL himself in England, later wrote to Mrs McCormack to say her son had been shot dead by a French soldier, while Sandy was sticking up for an American in a fight. Other versions of the story abounded. An Enquiry found that McCormack & two other 31st men had been on a drinking spree in a village called Argoeuves, near Amiens, trashed an estaminet & forced entry to a house, where McCormack was wounded by an occupant with a shotgun, succumbing to his wounds after two days. 1069A Pvt James McCormack, late of Given Tce, Paddington Q is buried at Vignacourt British Cemetery III.D.15. His epitaph reads: “Have Mercy upon him Lord May Perpetual Light Shine Upon Him”.
Paddy Kelly returned to the unit a month after his mate’s demise & was killed on 29.8.1918 by shellfire on the approach to Peronne & Mont St Quentin. 240 Pvt Patrick Kelly, late of Great George St, Paddington Q is buried in Assevillers New British Cemetery II.E.2. His grave bears no epitaph.
Never to play the wild rovers no more
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