O'SULLIVAN, Florence
| Service Numbers: | 3608, 20904 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 27 January 1916, Toowoomba, Queensland |
| Last Rank: | Driver |
| Last Unit: | 31st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Taroom, Queensland, 1887 |
| Home Town: | Roma, Maranoa, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Stock rider |
| Died: | Kemmel Hill, Injune, Qld., 7 August 1932, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Taroom Shire Council Roll of Honour, Taroom War Memorial, Town of Roma and Shire of Bungil WW1 Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 27 Jan 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3608, 31st Infantry Battalion, Toowoomba, Queensland | |
|---|---|---|
| 16 Aug 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 3608, 31st Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '16' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Boorara embarkation_ship_number: A42 public_note: '' | |
| 16 Aug 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 3608, 31st Infantry Battalion, HMAT Boorara, Brisbane | |
| 19 Jun 1918: | Involvement Private, 20904, Sea Transport Staff, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '24' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: SS Field Marshal embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 19 Jun 1918: | Embarked Private, 20904, Sea Transport Staff, SS Field Marshal, Sydney | |
| 15 Nov 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Driver, 3608, 31st Infantry Battalion |
Help us honour Florence O'Sullivan's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
On 27 January 1916, Florrie O'Sullivan, a stock rider and champion horse breaker from Taroom, enlisted in the AIF and was assigned to the 8th Reinforcements of the 31st Battalion. He was just a few days away from his 29th birthday.
Florrie embarked for service abroad in August 1916 but shortly after arriving in Plymouth was hospitalised with the mumps. After discharge from hospital, Florrie rejoined the 31st Battalion in France where he was wounded in action in March 1917 (shell shock) and briefly hospitalised again.
Florrie then returned to the field as a driver and served for the duration of the war without further injury or hospitalisation, until...
After the end of the war, in June 1919, whilst on board the ship making the return journey to Australia, Florrie had an accident, falling on his head and fracturing the base of his skull. His condition was so serious he required almost a month in hospital in Capetown and he suffered permanent hearing loss and disability. Florrie was eventually discharged (medically unfit) in Brisbane in November 1919. He died at Injune in 1932, aged just 45 years.
ROMA, Thursday.—The. death occurred on August 7 of Mr. Florence O Sullivan, at his residence, Kemmel Hill, Injune. He was the second son of Mr. and Mrs. F. O'Sullivan, well-known residents or Taroom and a descendant of one of the oldest pioneers of the Dawson and western districts. He was 45 years of age, and was mail contractor at Roma and Injune for many years. He saw three years' active service in the Great War, and during the past 12 years had occupied a soldier's settlement at Injune. He is survived by his widow and two children, Florence and Maureen. His funeral from the Church of the Sacred Heart, Roma was attended by residents of the Roma and Injune districts. Rev. Father T. J. Mc-Cormack conducted the service at the graveside.
Click images to start slideshow.