COLE, Kenneth Fillan
| Service Number: | 1158 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 11 February 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 37th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Caniambo, 1893 |
| Home Town: | Caniambo, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Caniambo |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Caniambo, 1963, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Gowangardie Cemetery |
| Memorials: | Euroa Telegraph Park |
World War 1 Service
| 11 Feb 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, 1158 | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Jun 1916: | Involvement Private, 1158, 37th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Persic embarkation_ship_number: A34 public_note: '' | |
| 3 Jun 1916: | Embarked Private, 1158, 37th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Persic, Melbourne |
Help us honour Kenneth Fillan Cole's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Elsa Reuter
COLE Kenneth Fillan 1158 LCPL
37th Battalion
1891-1963
Very often brothers, cousins or mates went off to enlist together in the war. So it was with Kenneth Fillan Cole and his cousin Arthur Charles Conquest whose mothers were sisters. They each lived on farms in northern Victoria, separated by the Broken River; at Caniambo on the south and Major Plains on the north.
The older of the two was Kenneth who was 25 years old when they enlisted on 11 April 1916 and were mustered into the 37th Battalion; they were allotted consecutive service numbers. After the initial few months of training at Seymour, Ken and his cousin embarked on HMAT Persic bound for England via Capetown. They eventually arrived at Plymouth on 11 July, then on to Larkhill Training Camp where they were prepared for the warfare they were about to encounter in France and Belgium. While at Larkhill a referendum was held to decide whether Australia citizens would favour a programme of conscription. A ‘No’ vote was the result.
They embarked for France on 22 November where Kenneth was hospitalised with mumps for three weeks at the 7th General Hospital at St Omer. When fit enough he returned to his unit where he was appointed T/CPL to replace the CPL of his Section who was on sick leave. The following June he was admitted to 1st AGH suffering from impetigo. By the following October he was no better, declared unfit for general service and was sent home to Australia.
At the end of 1918 he disembarked at Melbourne and was discharged in February 1919.
In 1923 he married Jean Meldrum and settled down to farm life in the Caniambo district. They had three children, William, Ian and Margaret.
Ken died in 1963 and is buried in the Gowangardie Cemetery.
Ken is remembered on the Main Honour Board in the Memorial Hall, Violet Town. There is also a copper plaque affixed to the exterior wall of the Memorial Hall. These plaques were used as identification on trees which were planted in 1918 in the soldiers’ memory. It is not known where these trees have been planted although there are a few Illawarra Flame trees dotted around the town. One of these trees would have been in Ken’s memory. His name appears on the Caniambo Honour Board.
© 2017 Sheila Burnell