S555
HENNESSY, John Hollie
| Service Number: | 5181 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 9 August 1915, Adelaide, South Australia |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 1st Divisional Signal Company |
| Born: | Orroroo, South Australia, 19 July 1894 |
| Home Town: | Orroroo, Orroroo/Carrieton, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Orroroo Public School |
| Occupation: | Telegraphist |
| Died: | Natural causes (cancer), Adelaide, South Australia, 3 March 1949, aged 54 years |
| Cemetery: |
Centennial Park Cemetery, South Australia RC section |
| Memorials: | Adelaide Officers of S.A. Post, Telegraph and Telephone Department Great War Roll of Honor, Orroroo District Roll of Honour WW1, Orroroo Public School Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 9 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 5181, Adelaide, South Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Jan 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Sapper, 5181, 1st Divisional Signal Company, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '6' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Afric embarkation_ship_number: A19 public_note: '' | |
| 5 Jan 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Sapper, 5181, 1st Divisional Signal Company, HMAT Afric, Melbourne | |
| 20 Sep 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Sergeant, 5181, 1st Divisional Signal Company |
Corrections
Service number 5181 refers to John Hollie Hennessy who died on the 3rd March 1949 in Adelaide, from cancer of the respiratory system (most likely caused by being gassed whilst restoring communications after he removed his gas mask to assist vision).
Mentioned in dispatches - awarded "Oak Leaf". Promulgated London Gazette No 30706 on the 28th May 1918.
Returned to Australia on the 12th June 1919.
Submitted 22 May 2017 by Denis Hennessy
Biography contributed by John Edwards
Embarkation Roll (www.awm.gov.au) incorrectly records second Christian name as ROLLIE
Biography contributed by Elizabeth Marlow
John Hollie Hennessy was born on the 19th of July 1894. He lived in Orroroo, South Australia with his mother, Mary Hennessey. John had 3 brothers and a sister. The oldest was Elanor Hennessy who was born in 1877, Maurice Bernard Hennessy was the second oldest, born on 30th August 1892. 19th July 1894 was John Hollie Hennessy than 25th March 1896 Clement Vincent Hennessy was born. Kelvin McMahon Hennessy was the last one to be born on the 20th of July 1899. On the 5th of July 1886, Elanor Hennessy had passed away at 9 years old of an unknown cause.
John Hollie was 5 feet and 5 1/2 inches tall, weighed 132 lbs, and his second name being “Rollie” as his Christian name. John went to Orroroo Public School as a child through primary and high school. He worked as a telegraphist after he obtained his high school diploma.
During John’s lifetime, he was married to a lady by the name of Susan Catherine Honan.
At the age of twenty-one, John Hollie enlisted as an AIF private on the 9th of August 1915. He was a sapper for the 1st Divisional Signal Company on the 5th of January 1916. In the same year John embarked overseas on the HMAT Afric, Melbourne.
John Hollie Hennessy returned to Australia on the 12th of June 1919 and was discharged as a sergeant on the 20th of September 1919.
John’s brother, Maurice Bernard Hennessy committed suicide on the 12th of September 1927, 35 years old.
1929 7th May, John’s brother Clement Vincent Hennessy got married to Alice Bridget Gertrude Lynch.
1940, January the 3rd at noon John had been in an incident of his house being ransacked by 2 men that go by Gedric Conroy Forrest, and Leonard William Hooper. A police officer arrested the 2 men after he caught them nearby and held a revolver near their heads. The criminals were brought to the Adelaide police court on the 15th of January 1940 when pledging guilty for their crimes and being sentenced 30 days in jail.
John Hollie Hennessy sadly passed on 3rd of March 1949 at the age of 56 years old. He is buried at Centennial Park Cemetery, South Australia, Australia, RC section. He is commemorated on the King and Empire Schools Role of Honour along with his brothers, Clement and Maurice Hennessy.