MAHONEY, Clive Vincent
| Service Number: | 646 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 9 October 1916, Enlisted at Royal Agricultural Society Showground, Moore Park, Sydney. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 5th Machine Gun Company |
| Born: | Geelong, Victoria, Australia., 3 November 1895 |
| Home Town: | Marrickville, Marrickville, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Railway Porter |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 25 April 1918, aged 22 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 9 Oct 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 646, 5th Machine Gun Company, Enlisted at Royal Agricultural Society Showground, Moore Park, Sydney. | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 May 1917: | Involvement Private, 646, 5th Machine Gun Company, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '21' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Shropshire embarkation_ship_number: A9 public_note: '' | |
| 11 May 1917: | Embarked Private, 646, 5th Machine Gun Company, HMAT Shropshire, Melbourne | |
| 25 Apr 1918: | Involvement Private, 646, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 646 awm_unit: 4th Australian Machine Gun Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1918-04-25 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by John Oakes
Vincent Clive MAHONEY (Service Number 646) was born on 3rd November 1895 at Geelong, Victoria. He first worked for the NSW Railways as a temporary junior porter in the Sydney District from 24th November 1915. On his 21st birthday in 1916 he nominally became a porter, though he had been granted leave to join the Expeditionary Forces two months earlier on 13th September. He enlisted at the Royal Agricultural Society Showground Camp (Moore Park, Sydney) on 9th October 1916. He claimed that he had been an apprentice carpenter, had completed three months compulsory training, and gave his father as his next of kin.
Allotted to the 5th Australian Machine Gun Company, Mahoney embarked HMAT ‘Shropshire’ at Melbourne on 11th May 1917. The ship reached Plymouth (England) on 19th July, though not without disciplinary strife for Mahoney. Sailing via the Cape of Good Hope, he had been Absent Without Leave from 2.30pm to 9pm on 16th June and for was punished with seven days confined to barracks in the ship’s brig, as well as the forfeiture of a day’s pay. It was 17th April 1918 before Mahoney proceeded to France via Folkestone.
Mahoney was killed at Villers-Bretonneux on 25th April 1918. W.B. Wynne reported:
‘During the “hop-over” at Villers-Bretonneux he was killed instantly by being shot through the temple. When we came back two days later to that spot, his body was still in the same position. We buried him about 1000 yds in front of Cachy. The usual cross was put up over the grave with all details. He was only with us a few days, but was very popular with the boys he came over with.’
E.T. Crabtree reported:
‘Mahoney was a railway porter on Sydney Railway Station.’
Despite the cross over the grave, the location was lost, and Mahoney now has no known grave, and is remembered on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial.
In the routine way the Military authorities sought out the nearest surviving relative for the distribution of medals and mementoes. Mahoney’s mother, Ellen, wrote:
‘In reply to your notice dated 19th May of distribution of war medals, you wanted to know if his father was still alive. Yes he is still alive I believe, but don’t know where he is as we have been apart for the last 20 years. I am living with my daughter, his only surviving child, and she is also a war widow with two children. Sorry I could not answer this before as I have been very ill’
The war medals were given to Vincent Mahoney’s mother..
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.