MOOREHEAD, Harold Percival
| Service Number: | 745 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 17 February 1915, Melbourne |
| Last Rank: | Lance Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 22nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia, December 1892 |
| Home Town: | Hawthorn, Boroondara, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Wesley College, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Journalist |
| Died: | Enteric fever, Caulfield Military Hospital, Caulfield, Victoria, Australia, 28 September 1929 |
| Cemetery: |
Boroondara (Kew) General Cemetery, Victoria Family Plot - Pres B 0656 |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 17 Feb 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 745, 22nd Infantry Battalion, Melbourne | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 May 1915: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 22nd Infantry Battalion | |
| 10 May 1915: | Involvement Private, 745, 22nd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '14' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ulysses embarkation_ship_number: A38 public_note: '' | |
| 10 May 1915: | Embarked Private, 745, 22nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ulysses, Melbourne | |
| 5 Sep 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 745, 22nd Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli | |
| 19 Sep 1915: | Wounded AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 745, 22nd Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, Shell wounds to right arm, right leg and chest (severe) - right arm amputated above elbow and right leg amputated above knee. | |
| 4 Nov 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 745, 22nd Infantry Battalion, HS Karoola, Suez for invaliding to Australia - arriving Melbourne on 4 December 1915. | |
| 3 Feb 1916: | Discharged AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 745, 22nd Infantry Battalion, Medically unfit. | |
| 19 Oct 1920: | Honoured Officer of the Order of the British Empire, For services in connection with the War (Repatriation). |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Michael Silver
News of the death of Harold Percival Moorehead OBE, which occurred in the Caulfield Military Hospital on 28 September 1929, was received with regret by a wide circle of friends. To all his friends he was notable for his constant cheerfulness under a sever handicap and for the fact that his fortitude had been the subject of admiring comment by General Birdwood and others.
Mr Moorehead, who was aged 36 years when he died, was a son of Mr K W Moorehead a former sub-collector of Customs for Victoria. He was educated at Wesley College and was a member of the literary staff of ‘The Argus’ when the Great War began. He joined the 22nd Battalion and took part in the storming of Gallipoli.
When he had been only a few days in the trenches his right arm and right leg were blown from his body by a Turkish shell. When he was carried from the firing line to a hospital ship it is reported a nurse sought to break the news to him that he was most seriously injured: “You have lost an arm and a leg,” she said gently. Moorehead took a pull on a cigarette which had been handed to him. “Well,” he said, “I still have a quorum present. Carry on!"
He was taken to Malta, but his fortitude and cheerfulness had so impressed the doctors and nurses on board that he was brought under the notice of General Birdwood, who conversed with him for a long time. General Birdwood afterwards wrote to him: “I consider it a great privilege to have been able to see such a really brave man. Colonel Collins (the doctor) said that he had never seen a braver man under an operation.”
He returned to Melbourne in the hospital ship ‘Karoola’ in December 1915 and was one of the first soldiers to land. He was met by his father and conveyed to his home by car. His comrades cheered heartily as he was driven away from the wharf.
Despite the seriousness of his disability he never complained, and never encouraged any expressions of sympathy. As soon as he was able to stand erect, he turned his attention to the problems of repatriation.
Returning his profession, Mr Moorehead conducted the motoring column of the ‘Herald’ for some time and was then appointed a member of the first Commonwealth Repatriation Commission in 1918, an honorary position which entailed much arduous work. When the commission was dissolved, he was appointed chairman of the State Repatriation Board, a position he retained until the board was dissolved. He was also a member of the Canteens and McCaughey Trust, both honorary positions.
In 1920 he married Louise Mary O’Brien and they were to have a son. Later that year the Order of the British Empire was conferred on him for his repatriation work.
During the late 1920s his wounds again began to trouble him, and he suffered some mental health issues in 1928. In February 1929 his wife and son left for London in the SS Orvieto. Later that year, a recurrence of enteric fever made it necessary for him to re-enter Caulfield Military Hospital – sadly he did not recover.
His funeral on 30 September 1929 drew numerous prominent public figures including the Victorian Premier, Sir William McPherson and Colonel J.M. Semmens, Chairman of the Victorian Repatriation Board.
His wife and son were still abroad at the time of his death. One of his brothers, Mr Frank M. Moorehead was killed on Gallipoli.
References:
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page388351
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page12056483
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page472983
https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/270296-harold-percival-moorehead/
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