O'GORMAN, Anselin
Service Number: | 1200 |
---|---|
Enlisted: | 11 September 1914 |
Last Rank: | Private |
Last Unit: | 16th Infantry Battalion (WW1) |
Born: | Kapunda, South Australia, 1880 |
Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
Schooling: | Black Rock, South Australia |
Occupation: | Labourer |
Died: | Jamestown, South Australia, 28 June 1949, cause of death not yet discovered |
Cemetery: |
Jamestown Cemetery, South Australia Section G, Row C, Plot 10 |
Memorials: | Orroroo District Roll of Honour WW1 |
Biography contributed by Paul Lemar
Anselin was the son of Malachi O’GORMAN & Mary O’CONNELL and was born in 1880 in Kapunda, SA.
His parents were married on the 9th of August 1864 in St Aloysius Church, Sevenhill, SA.
His father was the son of Thomas & Honora O’GORMAN and was born in 1835 in Cerofin, County Clare, Ireland.
He had arrived in South Australia on board the 1858 on board the Bee on the 18th of October 1858.
His mother was the daughter of Denis O’CONNELL and was born in 1841 in Ireland.
O'Connell Mary 1857 Caucasian 57/13
Anselin was the youngest child born into the family of 6 children.
His father was a ganger and they lived at Black Rock Plains.
Sadly, Anselin was only 8 years old when his mother died on the 25th of June 1888 in Black Rock Plains and they buried her in the Orroroo Cemetery.
Anselin and his siblings attended the Black Rock Public School and he then gaine employment as a labourer.
According to his attestation papers Anselin the served 3 months with the US Troops in the Philippine war prior to its end.
His father died on the 14th of March 1914 in the Adelaide Hospital.
At the age of 31, Anselin enlisted into the AIF on the 11th of September 1914 in Morphettville and allotted the service number 1200 and posted to G Company, Broadmeadows Camp, Victoria.
Anselin was then posted to the newly raised 16th Battalion, G Company and embarked from Melbourne on board HMAT Ceramic on the 22nd of December 1914.
He served at Gallipoli and then in France, serving a total of 3 years and 347 days overseas before being granted 6 months furlough back to Australia.
He embarked on the 8th of October 1918 on board HT Port Sydney and whilst on the voyage the Armistice was signed.
He disembarked in Melbourne on the 2nd of December and then entrained to Adelaide.
Anselin was discharged from the AIF on the 31st of January 1919 and moved back to Black Rock where he gained employment with Louis Dreyfus & Co (grain exporters). He was later employed as a fitter in Black Rock and it appears he moved to Jamestown in the mid 1940’s.
Anselin died on the 28th of June 1949 in the Jamestown and was buried the following day in the Jamestown Cemetery; Section G, Row C, Plot 10, with his brother Patrick.
Military
At the age of 31, Anselin enlisted into the AIF on the 11th of September 1914 in Morphettville and allotted the service number 1200 and posted to G Company, Broadmeadows Camp, Victoria.
He listed his brother, Ambrose, of the Loco Department SAR, Adelaide, as his next of kin.
Anselin was then posted to the newly raised 16th Battalion, G Company.
Three-quarters of the battalion were recruited in Western Australia and the rest in South Australia. With the 13th, 14th and 15th Battalions it formed the 4th Brigade commanded by Colonel John Monash.
The South Australian and Western Australian recruits were united in November.
He embarked from Melbourne on board HMAT Ceramic on the 22nd of December 1914, spent Christmas Day on board and arrived in Albany, Western Australia, 5 days later and anchored in King George’s Sound.
They then sailed for Egypt, reaching Aden Harbour on the 20th of January, where Private Robinson died of Pleurisy and Measles and was buried the following day in Aden with the band and F Company landing to attend his funeral.
They then sailed on the 23rd and arrived in Suez on the 27th and then entered the canal 2 days later, reaching Pt Said on the 30th of September.
The following day the proceeded on the voyage and then arrived in Alexandria on the 1st of February at 8am.
They disembarked 2 days later and entrained for Zeitoun and marched into Aerodrome Camp in Heliopolis.
Three days later the Battalion adopted the 4 Company organisation and the following movements were made;-
A & C Companies to be A Company
B & D Companies to be B Company
E & H Companies to be C Company
G & F Companies to be D Company
So with this new structure, Anselin was now in D Company and after further training they embarked on board HMT Haida Pascha for the Dardanelles on the 12th of April, arriving in Port Mudros 3 days later.
Then at 1am on the morning of the 25th of April they sailed for the Gallipoli Peninsular, landing later that afternoon.
A week after they landed they were thrown into the attack on Bloody Angle suffering many casualties.
In May, June and July they were heavily involved in establishing and defending the front line of the ANZAC beachhead.
Then on the 19th of July Anselin suffered from Vertigo and on the 27th he was transferred to Pt Said on board HS Grantully Castle and admitted into the 1st New Zealand Stationary Hospital.
He spent nearly 4 weeks in hospital before being discharged to duty in Heliopolis on the 23rd of August.
Then on the 19th of September he embarked for Gallipoli on board HT Melville and rejoined his Battalion 9 days later, which were enjoying a rest on Lemnos Island.
On the 2nd of November they returned to Gallipoli where they remained until they were evacuated on the night of the 19th of December.
After their withdrawal from Gallipoli, they returned to Egypt and while there the AIF expanded and was reorganised. The 16th Battalion was split and provided experienced soldiers for the 48th Battalion, but Anselin remained with the 16th. The 4th Brigade was combined with the 12th and 13th Brigades to form the 4th Australian Division.
After further training, Anselin and the 16th Battalion embarked Alexandria on the 1st of June 1916, disembarking in Marseilles 8 days later.
By July they were located at Bois Grenier, before being relieved by the 32nd Battalion and relocating to billets for specialized training at Toutencourt, Somme.
The Battalion's first major action in France was at Pozieres in the Somme valley in July 1916.
By August they had moved to Brickfields, near the front line and then into Wire Trench near Tara Gully.
It was in Wire Trench that Anselin suffered from Shell Shock as it was shelled heavily on the 10th of August.
He was admitted into the 7th Field Ambulance and then transferred to the 1st Australian Receiving Station, before spending 2 days in a rest station and then rejoined his Battalion on the 15th at Warloy.
Two days later they moved to Halloy-les-Lernois where they continued with specialist training for 2 weeks before moving back into the front line in Wire Trench on the 28th of August.
Anselin suffered from Shell shock again just 2 days after moving into the front and after a day in the Australian Field Ambulance, he rejoined his Battalion.
By September they had completed more training and were back in the bloody trench warfare once again and in October they were located at Spoil Bank and Reninghelst before being relieved.
They moved onto Pont Remy and were billeted in the village on the 27th of October.
They completed further training and attack practice at Picquigny and Ribemont and they also carried out railway maintenance at Mametz until the end of November 1916.
In December they spent 4 days in the front line trench at Flers before moving to Cardonette where they spent Christmas 1916.
From here they moved to Ribemont, Mametz and Dernancourt engaging in camp improvements such as duckboard levelling, drainage systems and hut building. They arrived at Townsville Huts on the 15th of January 1917.
February was then spent back in the front line at Flers before they were relieved and relocated to Albury Camp, Bazentine, on road duties.
In March they moved to Ribemont where they prepared for open warfare and by the end of the month they had moved back to Bazentine.
Following this they were moved to Beugnatre in early April and relieved the 49th Battalion in the First Defense System and then onto Noreuil by the 9th.
On the 11th of April they attacked the Hindenburg Line in the battle of Bullecourt.
The battalion, along with most of the 4th Brigade, suffered heavy losses at Bullecourt in April, when the brigade attacked strong German positions without the promised tank support.
They then moved to billets in Ribemont and underwent reorganization and Musketry practices for the month of May before moving to Mahutonga Camp at Neuve Eglise on the 31st of May.
Here they were engaged in working parties at Petit Douve Farm, on railway construction, before moving into the front line, where they remained until the 13th of July, when they moved into camp at Canteen Corner.
A small amount of training was completed at Bleu Tour before they moved into the front line at Messines in August before moving to billets near Merville.
They spent September moving through Crepy, Staple and Steenvoorde heading towards Ypres.
Here on the 25th of September, Anselin was granted 2 weeks leave and when he rejoined his Battalion they were located at Steenvoorde undergoing training. Then by mid October they moved to Westhoek Ridge and then to Zonnebeke before providing working parties at Dairy Wood and then moving into the front line at Broodseinde.
By the end of December they were located at Templeux-la-Fosse and Christmas 1917 was spent here.
Then in March and April 1918, they helped to stop the German Spring offensive with their next major engagement being the Battle of Hamel on the 4th of July.
The then participated in the great allied offensive of 1918, fighting near Amiens on the 8th of August and continued fighting all through September.
In early October they were billeted at Picquigny and were in training and on the 3rd of October, Anselin and 29 other men, who had embarked from Australia in 1914, marched out of the Battalion for 6 months furlough back in Australia.
Anselin embarked on the 8th of October 1918 on board HT Port Sydney and whilst on the voyage the Armistice was signed.
He disembarked in Melbourne on the 2nd of December and then entrained to Adelaide.
Anselin was discharged from the AIF on the 31st of January 1919 and awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War & Victory Medals.