LONERGAN, Matthew Jeremiah
| Service Numbers: | 422, 4169 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 25th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Gympie, Queensland, Australia, 7 December 1879 |
| Home Town: | Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Accountant |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 5 August 1916, aged 36 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial,\ Picardie, France\ |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Toowoomba War Memorial (Mothers' Memorial), Villers-Bretonneux Memorial |
Biography contributed by Claude McKelvey
He served in both the South African (Boer) war and WW1. First service was as a Private S.N. 422, 6th Queensland Imperial Bushmen, Boer War. Second service was as a Private S.N. 4169, 25th Infantry Battalion AIF, WW1, during which he was K.I.A. in France.
Reports by others indicate Matthew Jeremiah Lonergan was already serving in South Africa with the Imperial Light Horse as a Galloper for Col. White prior to the 6th QIB forming in 1901. Indeed, he does not appear in the list of rank and file published in The Queenslander, 13 Apr 1901, that embarked from Pinkenba aboard SS Victoria. The suggestion is that he joined the 6th QIB in South Africa.
That aside, he was entered in the original nominal roll of the 6th Queensland Imperial Bushmen Contingent, held by National Archives, and his N.O.K. was recorded as his father M. Lonergan, Spring Hill. In the Boer War Service Paybooks for the 6th QIB, Bk 2 p. 199, it is noted he was discharged in South Africa on 11 May 1902, it is assumed so that he could take up employment there.
it is unclear whether he made trips back to Australia in subsequent years. However, a newspaper article in The Darling Downs Gazette, 4 May 1907, reported that his future wife embarked for South Africa where she would marry him. Similarly, reports by others indicate their 4 daughters were born in Australia, however, the BDM Qld birth register online only records 2 of them suggesting they may not have returned to Autralia until around 1912-14.
The main report referenced is located online, Lest We Forget: Private M. J. Lonergan- prepared by Jacqui Rose Brock - IXL Family History (a family history researcher), see link attached to this profile. That report contains a photo of Matthew Jeremiah Lonergan with 3 of his daughters.
He enlisted again in 1915 for WW1 and on his Attestation Paper, dated 6 Sep 1915, it is noted that; he was born at Gympie and was 35 years 9 months old; he was married with 4 children and an accountant; his N.O.K. was his wife Rose Lonergan, Toowong (later changed to Nundah and then Toowoomba); and he had served in South Africa for 4 months with the Imp. Light Horse and 1 year 3 months with 6th QIB.
Mathew Jeremiah Lonergan was born on 7 Dec 1879 at Gympie, a son to Matthew Lonergan and Margaret Lonergan (nee Mullins) He married Mary Therese Rose Joyce in 1907 in South Africa and they had 4 children.
He was involved in action in France at the attack on Pozieres in Aug 1916 where he was initially reported as missing in action. The Red Cross Wounded and Missing file contains several soldiers' eye witness reports that he was killed in action instantly by shell fire. As noted in Jacqui Rose Brocks' report, the army took over 12 months to agree on this point with his wife delaying much needed financial assistance she required to raise their 4 very young children.
(source- AWM Boer War Nominal Roll, Murray p. 517; National Archives Australia- B 5172 Nominal Roll of 6th Queensland Imperial Bushmen Contingent Queensland Defence Force for service in South Africa, p. 6; Qld State Archives- Boer War Service Paybooks 6th QIB, Bk 2 p. 199; National Archives Australia- WW1 service record; Lest We Forget: M. J. Lonergan online bio by Jacqui Rose Brock-IXL Family History- see link attached to this profile).