Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Private Myles Kavanagh 2383 

2nd Pioneers 2nd Division WW1

Biography by Myles Kavanagh

Private Myles Kavanagh, Service Number 2383, 2nd Pioneers, 2nd Division, WW1, of the Australian Imperial Forces was born on the 17 July 1892 to Myles Kavanagh and Mary Brady (widow, née Hickey) in Ballinlug, Killanne, Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford, Ireland. He had had one sister, Bridget, who was born on the 20 December 1889, and one brother, Robert who was born on the 29 May 1895. All of them attended the local National School in Kiltealy. Bridget Kavanagh and Robert Kavanagh emigrated to Australia.

At age of 18 years Myles Kavanagh of Ballinlug, son of Myles and Mary Kavanagh was recorded in the Census of Ireland, dated 2 April 1911, working as a labourer for farmer Laurence Ryan in nearby Killanne. Later that year he was aboard the P & O Liner SS Geelong that sailed from London and arrived in Victoria Australia in September 1911. In the early years when Myles was in Australia his father Myles died in Ballinlug, on the 31st of January 1914.

On the 16th of May 1916 at the age of 23 years and 10 months, Myles made application to join the Australian Imperial Forces and completed the Attestation Paper of Persons Enlisted for Services Abroad. He passed the medical examinationm, and joined the ranks of the 2nd Pioneer Battalion. The Battalion embarked on the ship HMAT A32 Themistocles from Melbourne, Australia on the 28th of July 1916. It arrived in Plymouth, England on the 11th of September 1916. While in in training in Perham, England, Myles on the 25th of September overstayed special leave from midnight until 12 noon on the 27th of September and for that he was awarded 68 hours of detention by Major R.T. F. Rutledge and a total forfeiture of nine days pay. After completion of training and all preparations the 2nd Pioneer Battalion proceeded to France and were posted in Entables (aka Antales), Brittany, France in January of 1917. From there on Myles and the Battalion were engaged in the fields of war with leave being granted to them from time to time which was taken in turns with visits to Paris and England. This then was the continuous daily life of all these brave soldiers in France and Belgium until the end of WW1 in November 1918 and in to 1919. In the strange, strange turmoil of the battlefields of war, engagements of friend and foe, Private Myles Kavanagh earned 3 shillings a day in pay. At some stage during his soldiering Myles incurred some injuries and was hospitalised for a short period.

In the fields with the unit of the 2nd Pioneer Battalion, Myles applied to the Australian Imperial Force Department of Repatriation and Demobilisation for a Discharge in a Country other than Australia on the 19th of January 1919. The discharge request was for England and the reasons he gave were that his mother was resident in England and owning property there, she was a widow and he had no relatives in Australia. He gave his length of service as two years and 235 days and that deferred pay due to him was £44 – 16 – 0. On the 31st of January 1919 the Medical Unit Doctor of the 2nd Pioneer Battalion, C.L. Chapman D.M.S. signed a certificate declaring that there is no medical objection to discharge this man in the U.K. After much deliberation, it was decided by the AIF Repatriation and Demobilisation Department that Myles did not warrant discharge outside of Australia. He boarded boarded the HMAT SS Barambah with the 2nd Pioneers Battalion on the 3rd of September 1919 and arrived in Australia and disembarked at Melbourne on the 25th of October 1919. 

Each of the Allied nations issued medals to their own nationals. The Australians were awarded the medal issued by Great Britain. Myles Kavanagh was issued with 3 medals in recognition of his service. He was issued with the Victory Medal which was awarded to commemorate the victory of the Allied Forces over the Central Powers, the Star Medal awarded to those who served in France or Belgium and the British War Medal awarded to commemorate the end of World War One. The medals were presented to Myles Kavanagh by the Distributing Officer, Australian Military Forces, 3rd Military District, Victoria Barracks, Melbourne, Australia.

Information on the rest of the life of Myles Kavanagh is sparse but what I have found appears to show that the remainder of his life was spent in Melbourne, Australia. The first of these documents is dated the 2nd of January 1936, a Commonwealth of Australia Statutory Declaration in which Myles stated his address as Koonung Street, Tunstall and declared that he had lost his discharge certificate from his coat pocket about seven years previously. The declaration was made before A. Cantwell J.P., Melbourne. In other documents I came across reports where it stated his name was recorded in the Electoral Rolls of 1939 and 1946 of the State of Victoria, Australia. On the 24th of May 1960 Kavanagh Myles Number 2383 Pte.2nd Pioneers applied to the Repatriation Department, Victoria Branch for benefits under the Repatriation Act. The Deputy Commissioner, Tail Stephens of the Repatriation Department wrote to the Australian Imperial Forces (A.I.F.) Base Records, Central Army Records Office (C. A. R. O.), Albert Park Barracks, Melbourne seeking full service and medical documents of Myles. The death of Myles is reported as of the 1st of January 1962 and he was recorded as a retired linesman with his residence in the Mitcham area. The areas of Koonung Street, Tunstall and Mitcham are located in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne about 21 km from Melbourne’s Central Business District. 

Note from the Author:

The above short article was written by Myles Kavanagh (aged 81 years), Bagenalstown, Co. Carlow, Ireland, who’s Great Grand Uncle was Myles Kavanagh of Ballinlug, father of Private Myles Kavanagh who emigrated to Australia. The Great Grandfather of Myles (the writer of Article) was Robert Kavanagh of Springmount, Killanne, Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford and the father of Myles was Robert Kavanagh of Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford, Ireland. Myles also did the research for this article.