GEELAN, Francis John
| Service Number: | 382 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 11 April 1915, Liverpool, NSW |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 14th Light Horse Regiment |
| Born: | Braidwood, New South Wales, Australia, 13 April 1894 |
| Home Town: | Leichhardt, Leichhardt, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Christian Brothers School, Lewisham, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Plasterer |
| Died: | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 27 April 1936, aged 42 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Rookwood Cemeteries & Crematorium, New South Wales Plot Sect. M1 Row M Plot 1179 |
| Memorials: | Braidwood Public School Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 11 Apr 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 382, 20th Infantry Battalion, Liverpool, NSW | |
|---|---|---|
| 25 Jun 1915: | Involvement Private, 382, 20th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '13' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Berrima embarkation_ship_number: A35 public_note: '' | |
| 25 Jun 1915: | Embarked Private, 382, 20th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Berrima, Sydney | |
| 26 Jan 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, Camel Corps | |
| 1 Jul 1918: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 14th Light Horse Regiment |
Help us honour Francis John Geelan's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
His brother, 2644 Pte Robert Michael Geelan, 18th Battalion AIF, was killed in action in Belgium, 20 September 1917.
His father, 5100 Pte. Frank Robert Geelan also served in the 1st Battalion AIF at 45 years of age and was returned to Australia in June 1916.
Francis John Geelan, was born and raised in Braidwood, New South Wales and his family was well known there. At an early age he went to live in Leichhardt, and remained there all his life, with the exception of the last three years of his life, in which he resided at Croydon.
Frank Geelan married Miss Cecilia McCarthy, of Orange, in 1920. He had a son (Robert) and four daughters: Margaret, Patricia, Marie and Norah. Frank was educated at the Christian Brothers' School, Lewisham. He enlisted early in 1915, and fought on Gallipoli and in Egypt and Palestine as a member of the Camel Corps and the 14th Light Horse.
He was a member of the signal branch, N.S.W. Railways, and joined the staff of the ways and works branch.
He was killed in a street brawl in Croydon, New South Wales, during 1936, with three men being charged with manslaughter following his death.
At his funeral the chief mourners were the members of Mr. Geelan 's own family, and old comrades of the Camel Corps and 14th Light Horse, six of whom acted as pallbearers.
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