COUGHLIN, Michael
| Service Numbers: | 4162, 4162A |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Balmain, New South Wales, Australia, July 1887 |
| Home Town: | Rozelle, Leichhardt, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 4 October 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" YPRES (MENIN GATE) MEMORIAL Panel 7 - 17 - 23 - 25 - 27 - 29 - 31. [ |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Menin Gate Memorial (Commonwealth Memorial to the Missing of the Ypres Salient) |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Dec 1915: | Involvement Private, 4162, 4th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '8' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Aeneas embarkation_ship_number: A60 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Dec 1915: | Embarked Private, 4162, 4th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Aeneas, Sydney | |
| 4 Oct 1917: | Involvement Private, 4162A, 2nd Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 4162A awm_unit: 2 Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1917-10-04 |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
No railway employment record card can be located for Michael COUGHLIN, (Service Number 4162A). He was born in Balmain about July 1887. He enlisted in July 1915, and there are no records in the Government Gazette of a man of that name serving with the NSW Railways or Tramways before that date. His description of his ‘calling’ is labourer and the Honour Roll describes his role as being in the Permanent Way Branch as would be consistent with being a labourer.
Coughlin enlisted on 29 July 1915 and left Australia through Sydney aboard HMAT ‘Aeneas’ on 20 December 1915.
Submitted 7 June 2023 by John Oakes
Biography contributed by Geoffrey Gillon
Address
5 Hancock Street, Rozelle, New South Wales
Age at embarkation 28
Next of kin
Sister, Mrs M Coughlin, 5 Hancock Street, Rozelle, New South Wales.
Enlistment date 29 July 1915
Date of enlistment from Nominal Roll 23 July 1915
4th Battalion, 13th Reinforcement
AWM Embarkation Roll number 23/21/4
Unit embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A60 Aeneas on 20 December 1915
War service: Egypt, Western Front
Allotted to and joined 2nd Bn, Tel el Kebir, 14 February 1916.
Proceeded from Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force, 22 March 1916; disembarked Marseilles, 28 March 1916.
Admitted to 1st Field Ambulance, 26 February 1917 (pyrexia, unknown origin); transferred to Divisional Rest Station; admitted to 7th Canadian General Hospital, Le Treport, 5 March 1917 (influenza and trench feet). Transferred to England, 9 March 1917; admitted to 3rd London General Hospital, Wansdworth, 10 March 1917. Transferred to 3rd Auxiliary Hospital, Dartford, 18 April 1917; discharged to No. 2 Command Depot, Weymouth, 7 May 1917. Marched out to Draft Depot, 7 June 1917; proceeded overseas to France, 5 July 1917; re-joined his battalion, 25 September 1917.
The war memorial is believed to be in the Roman Catholic church of Our Lady of Sorrows in Peckham, south London.
No connection has been found linking the Australian casualties shown with Peckham, other than they were of the Roman Catholic faith.
Biography contributed by John Oakes
Michael COUGHLIN, (Service Number 4162A) was born in Balmain about July 1887. He enlisted in July 1915. His description of his ‘calling’ is labourer and the Honour Roll describes his role as being in the Permanent Way Branch as would be consistent with being a labourer.
Coughlin enlisted on 29th July 1915 and left Australia from Sydney aboard HMAT ‘Aeneas’ on 20th December 1915. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion at Tel-el-Kebir and left from Alexandria (Egypt) to join the British Expeditionary Force in France. He reached Marseilles on 28th March and in May was awarded seven days Field Punishment No. 2 for disobedience to orders. Field Punishment No. 2 involved being closely restrained and shackled. At the end of February 1917, he was admitted to hospital with Influenza and trench feet and later transferred to England. He returned to the Battalion in July.
He was killed in action at Polygon Wood by shrapnel from an exploding shell on 4th October 1917. His badly mutilated body was buried near the site of his death, at a place described in his files as ‘Jabber Track’, but its location was lost. His name is recorded on the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium.
- based on notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
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