O'ROURKE, Ernest Frederick
| Service Number: | 6588 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 40th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Yarlington near Colebrook, Tasmania, Australia, 23 August 1894 |
| Home Town: | Yarlington, Southern Midlands, Tasmania |
| Schooling: | Yarlington State School |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 4 October 1917, aged 23 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Menin Gate Memorial (Commonwealth Memorial to the Missing of the Ypres Salient), Richmond War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Oct 1916: | Involvement Private, 6588, 12th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Port Lincoln embarkation_ship_number: A17 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1916: | Embarked Private, 6588, 12th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Port Lincoln, Melbourne | |
| 4 Oct 1917: | Involvement Private, 6588, 40th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 6588 awm_unit: 40th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1917-10-04 |
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Son of James O'Rourke and Louisa Cash. Enlisted at Claremont, Tasmania in 1916 aged 21 years 11 months. Roman Catholic. Single. Height 5'7½", weight 144 lbs, pale complexion, blue grey eyes, brown hair. Embarked on HMAT Port Lincoln 20th October, 1916, transferred to HMAT Ascanius at Sierra Leone on 4th December, 1916, disembarking in England on 28th December, 1916.
Ernest went AWOL at Durrington on 12th January, 1917 and received the appropriate punishment for his misdemeanour.
Proceeded to France in June 1917 and was transferred from 12th Battalion, taken on strength to the 40th Battalion and immediately went into the field.
Ernest went into the Polygon Wood Stunt on 4th October, 1917 and did not come out. He was killed in action in the hop over and was buried where he fell. Altogether fourteen were killed at this time. Ernest's place of burial is ¾ mile WSW of Zonnebeke village, map reading D20d.2.4., the place of burial being certified by the 3rd Division Burials Officer, Fauquemberguss.
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