HURLEY, Francis Patrick
| Service Number: | 6992 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 1 November 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Wellington, New South Wales, Australia, 1 January 1893 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Unknown |
| Occupation: | Hotel Proprietor |
| Died: | Ventricular fibrillation - minutes, May Street, Auburn, Sydney, NSW, Australia, 24 July 1968, aged 75 years |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 1 Nov 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1 | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Nov 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 6992, 2nd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Benalla embarkation_ship_number: A24 public_note: '' | |
| 9 Nov 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 6992, 2nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Benalla, Sydney |
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Francis Patrick Hurley was born in 1893 in the Wellington District of NSW, Australia. He was the eldest child of Patrick Hurley and Annie Ryder. His father was born in Carrick on Suir, Co Tipperary, Ireland and immigrated to Australia in 1884. Francis was the eldest of seven children. He was a Coach Trimmer by trade having completed a 5 year apprenticeship in Sydney. He married Vera Eileen Downs also from Sydney in 1915, he was 22 and she was 16 years old at the time. Francis and Vera set up home at 47 Renwick St, Marrickville, Sydney and settled down to married life. Later in 1915 their only child Francis Clyde Hurley was born.
On 1 November 1916, at the height of the Great War, Francis joined the 2 Batt, Australian Imperial Force (AIF) for service abroad (regimental number 6992). His service contract was 'for the duration of the war and four months thereafter'. His physical description at the time of his enlistment was as follows: Height: 5' 3'', Eyes: grey, Hair: brown, Complexion: fair, Scar: right knee, right shin and left shin.
On 9 November 1916, a mere eight days after joining the AIF, he embarked from Sydney on the troop ship 'Benalla' and arrived in Devonport, England on the 9th of January 1917. During the two month trip he was charged with being absent without leave for a period of six hours. He was found guilty and forfeited three days’ pay.
Francis spent the next four months in England, undergoing basic military training and preparing for a journey into the unknown. In May 1917, he was posted to France and saw action at the front. He was treated for trench fever later in 1917 and was wounded in action (possibly in the face) on the 31 December 1917. He was hospitalised for about three weeks due to his wounds, after which he reported back to his unit on 26th of January 1918. Interestingly, his first cousin John Hurley from Carrick on Suir, was also serving in France at the same time, it is unknown if the two cousins met each other there.
In September 1918, he was given a month's leave to the UK and probably took the opportunity to visit his relations in Carrick at this time.
Francis returned to France in October 1918 where he contracted a severe bout of influenza which hospitalised him from the 16th of December 1918 until the 17th of January 1919. He returned to his unit and was serving in the trenches when the Armistice was declared at 11am on the 11th of November 1918.
He remained in France until May 1919 and then embarked on a three month trip home on the troopship HMAS Boorara. The HMAS Boorara was a captured German steel steamer originally called the Pfalz. The first shot fired in any theatre of war during World War 1 was fired, on the evening of the 5th of August 1914, when the Pfalz was detained while attempting to escape to sea. The state of war between Germany and Great Britain and her Allies was about two hours old.
HMAS Boorara arrived in Sydney on the 26th of August 1919, and Francis set foot on his native soil once again after almost three years fighting on the Western Front. He was discharged from the army on the 5th of October 1919 and returned home to Vera and their four year old son Francis Clyde. He was the recipient of the following medals - 1914/1915 Star, War Medal and the Victory Medal.
On the 12th of June 1928, Francis followed his father's footsteps and joined the Manchester Unity Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His card membership number was 406. By 1930 he was a foreman car trimmer living with Vera and their son Clyde at 23 Beronga Street and in 1936 the family moved to 16 Station Street, Enmore, New South Wales. In 1943, Francis and Vera were living at 371 Enmore Rd, Marrickville, Sydney. Their son Francis Clyde, who was living at home, joined the Royal Australian Air Force and was posted to England as an officer pilot during the World War 2. The 1949 Electoral Roll places both Francis and Clyde working as newsagents. By 1954 Francis was unemployed and living with Vera and Clyde in 24 Gold Street, Blakehurst, New South Wales.
In 1968 he and Vera were living at 22 Howard Street, Stratfield, Sydney.
Francis died aged 75 years on the 24th of July 1968 at May Street, Auburn, Sydney. His Death Certificate would indicate that he collapsed and died on the street as a result of a massive heart attack. He was cremated two days later at Rookwood Crematorium, Sydney. The minister who officiated at the cremation was a Church of England minister called W. Watts. Francis may have changed his religion from Roman Catholic to Church of England sometime during his lifetime. It is more likely that his wife Vera and son Francis C. who were both Church of England, requested Rev Watts to perform the ceremony. Interestingly, his occupation listed on his death certificate is Hotel Proprietor. Vera continued to live in Stratfield, possibly at 22 Howard Street when she died on the 18th of July 1993, in her 94th year.