HART, Michael Patrick
| Service Number: | 896 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 17 February 1915, Enlisted at Liverpool. |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 20th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Townsville, Queensland, Australia, 29 February 1892 |
| Home Town: | Townsville, Townsville, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Tram Conductor, Baker |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 20 September 1917, aged 25 years |
| Cemetery: |
Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, City of Townsville WW1 Honour Roll, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 17 Feb 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 896, 20th Infantry Battalion, Enlisted at Liverpool. | |
|---|---|---|
| 25 Jun 1915: | Involvement Private, 896, 20th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '13' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Berrima embarkation_ship_number: A35 public_note: '' | |
| 25 Jun 1915: | Embarked Private, 896, 20th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Berrima, Sydney | |
| 7 Oct 1916: | Embarked Private, 896, 20th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ceramic, Sydney | |
| 7 Oct 1916: | Involvement Private, 896, 20th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '13' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Ceramic embarkation_ship_number: A40 public_note: '' | |
| 3 Aug 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Sergeant, 20th Infantry Battalion | |
| 20 Sep 1917: | Involvement Sergeant, 896, 20th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 896 awm_unit: 20 Battalion awm_rank: Sergeant awm_died_date: 1917-09-20 |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
Michael Patrick HART, (Service Number 896) was born on 29 February 1892 at Townsville, Queensland. Although his work in Sydney was as a casual tram conductor based at Rozelle from November 1913, Hart was a baker and had served an apprenticeship in that trade. He remained in the role of conductor, becoming nominally permanent in September 1915, though he had been released from duty to join the Expeditionary Forces earlier in the year.
He enlisted at Liverpool on 17 February 1915, giving his father as his next of kin and stating that he had two years’ experience with the volunteer cadets in Townsville.
He left Australia for the first time aboard HMAT ‘Berrima’ on 25 June 1915.
Submitted 5 September 2023 by John Oakes
Biography contributed by John Oakes
Michael Patrick HART (Service Number 896) was born on 29th February 1892 at Townsville, Queensland. Although his work in Sydney was as a casual tram conductor based at Rozelle from November 1913, Hart was a baker and had served an apprenticeship in that trade. He was released from duty to join the Expeditionary Forces earlier in 1915.
He enlisted at Liverpool on th 17 February 1915, giving his father as his next of kin and stating that he had two years’ experience with the volunteer cadets in Townsville.
He left Australia for the first time aboard HMAT ‘Berrima’ on 25th June 1915. He went via Egypt to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force at Gallipoli on 16th August 1915. In October he was hospitalised, evacuated to a hospital ship and then to Malta, Alexandria (Egypt) and Heliopolis where he was admitted with enteric fever on 18th December 1915. He spent time at the Port Said convalescent camp, before returning to Australia in January 1916 aboard HT ‘Commonwealth’ for three months ‘change’. He arrived in Australia on one of his rare birthdays, 29th February 1916, and after the allotted three months was again fit.
He left Australia for a second time from Sydney aboard HMAT ‘Ceramic’ on 7th October 1916 and reached Plymouth (England) on 21st November. He then went to France where he re-joined the 20th Australian Infantry Battalion on 2nd May 1917. He was promoted to Lance Corporal later that month, and Corporal a short time later. In July he became Temporary Sergeant, and then Sergeant on 3rd August 1917.
He was killed in action in Belgium on 20th September 1917.
He was ‘Buried North of Line of Pill Boxes, West of remains of ruined house, & West side of Pill Box, near corner of garden, near Pill Box Cemetery, 3 miles E.N.E. of Ypres & 2 mls N.E. of Lillebeke.’ (NAA file)
These detailed records of his isolated burial place were sufficient for the Imperial War Graves Commission to locate it after the war, and his remains were exhumed and re-interred in Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood, Zonnebeke, Ypres.
- based on notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board