COLEMAN, Eric Arthur Ernest
| Service Number: | 4993 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 20th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia, 23 August 1892 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Railway Clerk |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 5 May 1917, aged 24 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Smithfield St James Anglican Church Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 5 Jul 1916: | Involvement Private, 4993, 20th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '13' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Ajana embarkation_ship_number: A31 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Jul 1916: | Embarked Private, 4993, 20th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ajana, Sydney |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
Eric Arthur Ernest COLEMAN, (Service Number 4993), was born on 23 August 1892, in Parramatta, NSW. In July 1908 he commenced his railway career as a telephone boy in the Traffic Branch. By the end of September 1909, he was made a junior porter, followed by another promotion to junior clerk on 1 January 1912. By May 1914, he was promoted to clerk. He was granted leave from the Railways to join the AIF on 21 January 1916, listed his father as next of kin, though over his time of service, his mother would become his next of kin.
He embarked at Sydney for Plymouth on 5 July 1916 and disembarked on 31 August 1916.
Submitted 3 June 2023 by John Oakes
Biography contributed by John Oakes
Eric Arthur Ernest COLEMAN, (Service Number 4993) was born on 23rd August 1892 in Parramatta, NSW. In July 1908 he commenced his railway career as a telephone boy in the Traffic Branch. By the end of September 1909, he had been made a junior porter. He was promoted to junior clerk on 1st January 1912. By May 1914 he had been promoted to clerk. He was granted leave from the Railways to join the AIF on 21st January 1916. He listed his father as next of kin.
He embarked at Sydney for Plymouth on 5th July 1916 and arrivedd there on 31st August 1916. He went to France from England on 21st October 1916. He was sent to reinforce the 1st Battalion on 7th November 1916. He was killed in action in May 1917. The date of passing was between 5th May and 8th May. His forms say he was buried in ‘vicinity of Bullecourt’.
After his death, his mother wrote a letter requesting pictures of Eric’s grave because she had received photos of her other son’s grave. However, she noted in her letter that she has heard ‘the place where he is buried is all knocked to pieces with shells’. She received a letter back to say that no information had been recorded about her son’s burial, but that ‘an intensive search is now being made’. The items he left were a wallet, bible, metal mirror, photos, cards, a letter, and a calendar. These and the 1914/15 Star, the British War Medal, and the Victory Medal were sent to his mother.
Since he has no known grave, his name is recorded on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial in France.
- based on notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
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