SHANAHAN, Michael
| Service Numbers: | Not yet discovered |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 August 1914, Militia from 1886 to 1914 in various roles. |
| Last Rank: | Major |
| Last Unit: | 2nd Light Horse Regiment |
| Born: | Roma, Queensland, Australia, 30 March 1870 |
| Home Town: | Roma, Maranoa, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Roma State School, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation: | Carpenter |
| Died: | Natural causes, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 12 October 1964, aged 94 years |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Town of Roma and Shire of Bungil WW1 Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 2nd Light Horse Regiment, Militia from 1886 to 1914 in various roles. | |
|---|---|---|
| 24 Sep 1914: | Involvement Lieutenant, 2nd Light Horse Regiment, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '1' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Star of England embarkation_ship_number: A15 public_note: '' | |
| 24 Sep 1914: | Embarked Lieutenant, 2nd Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Star of England, Brisbane | |
| 26 Feb 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Captain, 2nd Light Horse Regiment, TCapt 18/9/1915 | |
| 17 Jun 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Major, 2nd Light Horse Regiment | |
| 4 Aug 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Major, 2nd Light Horse Regiment, Battle of Romani, GSW to left thigh - serious | |
| 1 Dec 1916: | Honoured Mention in Dispatches | |
| 19 Apr 1917: | Honoured Companion of the Distinguished Service Order, Battle of Romani, For conspicuous gallantry in action. He organized and maintained the outpost line with the greatest courage and determination. Later, he rescued several wounded men under very heavy fire. He was wounded. | |
| 14 May 1917: | Discharged AIF WW1, Major, 2nd Light Horse Regiment, MU - amputated leg at thigh |
Help us honour Michael Shanahan'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 Wai-Lin Lee McCaull
Major Michael Shanahan and `BILL the Bastard’
Sometimes you can not honour the man without honouring the horse.
The Other War Horses at Gallipoli. Part 1 of 4
`BILL the Bastard’ – started off infamously as the unbreakable horse – but became a legend in the First War, brought to his potential by Major Michael Shanahan, the horse whisperer.
Bill began his `military’ life at Sydney’s Liverpool Army Camp, used then by recruiting officers to test the skill & strength of would-be light-horsemen. Initially he was treated as a bit of a joke as he used to toss his hapless riders off the saddle in seconds thus labelling him unrideable and was delegated to work as a pack horse carting supplies and munitions.
Bill began his ‘career’ in late 1914 when he joined 136,000 of his fellow war horses to the Middle East, cared for by Banjo Paterson who was then a war correspondent, and later became a Captain and commanded the Australian Remount Squadron.
Paterson noted in his diary: “You can’t lead Bill the Bastard to anything and you certainly can’t make him drink”. On arrival in Egypt, Bill was sent with Anzac troops to Gallipoli, starting off as a pack horse but was noticed when he carried the body of war hero John Kirkpatrick from the battlefield after his death on 19th May 1915.
In between his journeying from Anzac Cove and Suvla Bay, his cavalry rider got shot but Bill reared up and got through, suffering 2 gunshot wounds – he was saved by a vet who worked on his flesh wound but left the another bullet in his rump. Major Shanahan witnessed the event and decided he would try to get the horse. It was during his recovery that Bill became inseparable from Major Michael Shanahan who nursed him, went swimming with him and fed him Licorice Allsorts!
Bill soon gained a reputation for being fearless (wasn’t he one to start with?), standing his ground in an ambush and warning his rider of danger ahead, using his keen instinct and sense of smell. Capt Banjo Patterson agreed to let Shanahan take Bill into the Battle of Romani with 100,000 other horses, heading out into the searing 50o desert heat, to take control of the wells. It was on 4th/5th August 1916 when Shanahan & Bill `earned their stripes’ and a place in Australian history. Spotting others in trouble, Shanahan was able to get four Tasmanian troopers from the Light Horse Brigade on Bill’s back with him as he rode almost 3 miles to return them to safety.
Shanahan was awarded a Distinguished Service Order. “Bill went for six hours, his stamina was monumental,” said Prof Perry (biographer, author and war historian). “One general went through 17 horses in the night.”
It was the first time the Turks were defeated in the Middle East. “Bill was officially retired after the battle, he performed so well; but he still saw a lot of action – everyone wanted Bill.”
We have a good ending for Bill – he survived the war and as he was unable to return to Australia, he was left with the villagers on Gallipoli. He died in 1924 at the age of 21 and is buried at Walker’s Ridge.
* A bronze statue honouring Bill and Major Shanahan’s legacy stands in the SW NSW town of Murrumburrah/Harden (the birthplace of the 1st Aust Horse Infantry in 1897).
Part sources: ABC Central West and news.com
Click images to start slideshow.