Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Eric Brennan Lenehan was born on the 22nd of February 1898 in Armadale, Victoria.[i] Eric Lenehan enlisted in WW1, part of the [ii]12th Australian Field Ambulance which served an important role to the survival and retrieval of many soldiers in the Middle east and North Africa. He along with his older brother both served in World War 1 but in different parts of the military.

Lenehan was born in Victoria but spent most of his life in [iii]North Sydney living with his mum, Agnes Ellen Hart, dad, Nicholes Patrick Lenehan, and his older brother, John Arnold Lenehan. Eric was a talented student, as he attended Sydney Technical High school from [iv]1911 to 1914. In these years, school records show Lenehan placing within the top five within his class consistently over the four years he attended the school. This suggests Lenehan was a consistently hard-working student, as he always achieved amazing marks and never got below the top five rank. During his schooling years and time before war, Lenehan worked as a [v]clerk for businesses, which was a common job for students at the time. His job as a clerk was to oversee day to day affairs. These would include sorting files, performing inventory checks, and just basic maintenance around the office. In 1915 after Lenehan finished schooling, he enlisted for World War 1, on the 19th of July 1915.

When enlistments for war begin, Lenehan was eager to join, ready to leave everything behind and help serve his country. So eager, Lenehan lied on his enlistment sheet stating he was 19 years and 5 months of age when really, he was 17 years old. This was a common thing for people around his age; to lie about their age just so they could fight in the war. Along with Lenehan, his older brother, John Arnold Lenehan, also enlisted, being a part of the [vi]36th Heavy Artillery Brigade, in which his role was to fire a range of ammunition such as explosives, smokes, shrapnel and armour piercing projectiles.

Lenehan joined the Australian Imperial Force on the 19th of July 1915, as a part ofThe 12th Australian Field Ambulance role was to move forwards and retrieve those soldiers who were injured or dying on the warfront, bringing them back to Field Advanced Dressing station, and then to Casualty Clearing Station. Since they had to consistently move forward, they'd come under the same sort of risk as front-line combat troops. Whilst Lenehan was doing this, his brother was doing another important job, as he was a part of the 36th Heavy Artillery Brigade. The job of these men was to use the heavy machine guns to shoot down German defences, and these soldiers created the most casualties for the Germans. Even after the war ended, Eric and his brother stayed in[ix] France for a little while longer, before returning to Australia on the 11th of May 1919 with 10,000 other ANZAC soldiers.

After Lenehan returned on the 11th of May, he was officially discharged from his duties on the 23rd of August 1919. After the war Lenehan continued his Clerk job for a while until he married [x]Linda Muriel Polle in 1920. They were married for 9 years until the [xi]death of his wife in 1929, in which a public memorial was held, inviting everyone in the area. During his 9 years of marriage there was no record of him having a child, but he did change jobs to a valuer and move back to Victoria. In this job he had to look at properties and areas and determine the price of them for companies who were willing to buy or sell the land. Lenehan continued this job until his death on the 4th of April 1969.

[i] Ken Stevenson Drive; LENEHAN Eric Brennan– Page 1 - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fzHryxnGtOEmLwOA5_efT1EcyichnXgn/edit

[ii] Virtual War Memorial Australia – 12th Field Ambulance

https://vwma.org.au/explore/units/748

[iii] The AIF Project

 https://aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=174636

[iv] Ken Stevenson Drive; 1915 Roll of Honor.jpg

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1e3qeyXIdLaI7YHFvhWCGGDeBWQHcs6rE

[v] Virtual War Memorial Australia

https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/297254

[vi] Australian War Memorial – The big Guns

https://www.awm.gov.au/wartime/26/article

[viii] Australian War Memorial – Australian Imperial Force Unit War Diaries

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1338583

[ix] ANZAC PORTAL – Repatriation of Australians in World War 1

https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/ww1/politics/repatriation

[x] Ken Stevenson Drive; LENEHAN Eric Brennan – Page 6

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fzHryxnGtOEmLwOA5_efT1EcyichnXgn/edit

[xi] Ken Stevenson Drive; LENEHAN Eric Brennan – Page 3

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fzHryxnGtOEmLwOA5_efT1EcyichnXgn/edit

Bibliography

Australian Government Department of Veterans’ Affairs ANZAC Portal, Repatriation of Australians in World War 1

https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/ww1/politics/repatriation
Australian War Memorial, Australian Imperial Force unit war diaries, 1914-18 War, 

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1338583
Australian War memorial, the big guns

https://www.awm.gov.au/wartime/26/article
Ken Stevenson Research; Google drive

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1e3qeyXIdLaI7YHFvhWCGGDeBWQHcs6rE
UNSW Australia, The AIF Project; Eric Brennan Lenehan

https://aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=174636
Virtual War Memorial Australia, Eric Brennan Lenehan

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1338583
Virtual War Memorial Australia, 12th Field Ambulance

https://vwma.org.au/explore/units/748