MAHON, Edward Lawrence
| Service Number: | 938 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 31 March 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 24th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Flemington, Victoria, Australia, April 1893 |
| Home Town: | Essendon, Moonee Valley, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Killed in Action - crushed between boats, Gallipoli, Turkey, 2 September 1915 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" The Lone Pine Memorial (Panel 65), Gallipoli, Turkey |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 31 Mar 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 938, 24th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 10 May 1915: | Involvement Private, 938, 24th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '13' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ulysses embarkation_ship_number: A38 public_note: '' | |
| 10 May 1915: | Embarked Private, 938, 24th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ulysses, Melbourne |
Help us honour Edward Lawrence Mahon's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
From How We Served
The private commemoration for; - 938 Private Laurence Edward Mahon (aka Edward Lawrence Mahon) of Essendon, Victoria had been engaged in farming prior to his joining up for War Service on the 9th of April 1915. Laurence was allocated to the 21st Battalion 1st AIF and was embarked for Egypt and further training on the 10th of May.
Laurence was on board the HMAT ‘Southland’ which was steaming towards Gallipoli and was around 15 miles from Lemnos Island when it was attacked by an enemy submarine on the 2nd of September. Although loss of life was relatively minimal, some of those troops on board were still to perish at sea. Private Laurence Mahon was one of these, and at first, he was listed as having become ‘Missing at Sea’, until further evidence was availed the Defence Department of an eyewitness account of one of those serving with Laurence.
This caused Laurence's final fate to become officially listed as having been crushed whilst being caught in between one of the lifeboats, and the side of the stricken transport ship. This witness confirmed that after the collision Private Mahon’s body then sank and he was not able to be recovered for burial.
The impact of Laurence’s death on his family in Australia would have a deep and traumatic continuation with his mother’s sudden passing the following year, which was reported to have been caused due to self-harm owing to her grief in the loss of her son during the Gallipoli campaign.
As Private Laurence Mahon has no formal grave, he is instead officially commemorated at the Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli Peninsula, Canakkale Province, Turkey.
Back home in Australia, the supreme sacrifice made by Laurence during the ‘Great War’ was privately commemorated at the Mahon family’s collective burial site within Melbourne General Cemetery, Victoria
Click images to start slideshow.