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O'KEEFE, Michael
| Service Number: | 153 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 27th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Listowel, Jerry, Ireland, 1883 |
| Home Town: | Norwood (SA), South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Memorials: | Port Pirie Fathers of Sailors and Soldiers Association Port Pirie District Roll of Honor WW1 |
World War 1 Service
| 31 May 1915: | Involvement Private, 153, 27th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Geelong embarkation_ship_number: A2 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 31 May 1915: | Embarked Private, 153, 27th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Geelong, Adelaide | |
| Date unknown: | Wounded 153, 27th Infantry Battalion |
Help us honour Michael O'Keefe's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by St Ignatius' College
Michael O’Keefe said that he was 41 years old when he signed up for the war, but he was actually much older. He migrated from Kerry, Ireland to 237 the Parade, Norwood in Adelaide, which has been reconstructed to be the Norwood Squash centre. Michael was a light labourer and was a cook. He was married to Helen E O’Keefe with two stepsons, William Thomas Joseph Coppins and Laurence Alfred Coppins and two step daughters, May Coppins and Hazel Jane Coppins. Some medical conditions Michael had was rhinorrhoea, which is where nasal cavity is filled with a significant amount of mucus fluid; arteriosclerosis, which is a thicken arterial; and no teeth in his upper jaw (pg.10 SR).
O’Keefe was a part of the 27th Infantry Battalion, located in the trenches at the Western Front. On the 31st of May 1915, Michael embarked from Geelong. Some of the battles he participated in a part of the 27th battalion, was the great Battle of Pozieres, the Hindenburg Line and the Somme in 1916.
During the war, Michael O’Keefe had three hospital visits. In 1915, he was diagnosed with rheumatism (arthritis) and was discharged fourteen days after. On the 29th of December 1916, he was admitted for influenza and debility, being frail. Later in April 1916, Michael suffered from senility, which is a disease from old age and was then discharged two months later as medically unfit and was sent home, even though his terms of service were the ‘war and four months’. He was ordered to return to Melbourne, Australia in May although he returned earlier, arriving on April 11th 1916.
AIF n.d., Michael O'KEEFE, UNSW, accessed 16 February 2018, <https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=227977>.
Australian War Memorial n.d., ANZAC Spirit and the 27th Australian Infantry Battalion, Australian Government, accessed 3 March 2018, <https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=227977>
LaMonica, J 2015, ‘First World War’, in P Gaterall (ed.), Infantry, Bill Nasson.
O’KEEFE Michael, Service Record, Australian Imperial Force, 9/12/1814
RSL Virtual War Memorial n.d., O'KEEFE, Michael, Returned & Services League of Australia SA Branch, accessed 16 February 2018, <https://rslvirtualwarmemorial.org.au/>.
Sullivan, N 2018, Economic, Social & Political Consequences of the Great War, Study.com, accessed 4 March 2018, <https://study.com/academy/lesson/economic-social-political-consequences-of-the-great-war.html#lesson>.
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