Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Donald Foran was born in Toronto, Canada in June of 1892. He had a brother named Charles Albert Parker who lived on Rolxert street in Sydney. Donald moved to Australia at an unknown date and married Ms Margret Ellen Johnstone. The situation of their marriage was not clear because on his attestation paper he states he is not married, and then he names his next of kin as “Wife Mrs Margret E Foran.” This may be because they were not yet married, only engaged. They got married on the 17th of February 1916, 8 months and 27 days after he enlisted. They lived at the Royal Admiral Hotel on Hindley street in Adelaide. His religion was Church of England, and he identified as a natural born British subject. He had dark brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion. Donald was 5 feet and 10 inches tall, had a chest measurement of 36.39 inches and weighed 164lbs (or 74.39kg). He worked as a cement finisher, a skilled job that involves laying, repairing and ensuring the depth and pitch of concrete is right. He claimed on an enlistment paper that he had not been apprenticed to anyone.

Donald Foran enlisted on the 13th of November in 1915 at Adelaide. He was given the regimental number 4775. At this point he was 23 and 5 months old. He was assigned to the 10th Battalion, 15th reinforcement and was called to active service on the 9th of March 1916, 1 month and 2 days after he married his wife. On this date he embarked from Adelaide onto the RMS Mongolia, headed for Egypt. The ship was a former passenger ship that had the capacity to carry 100 first class passengers, 80 second class passengers and 1,000 third class passengers. From Egypt, he was transferred to the 50th Battalion. He embarked another ship on an unknown date and disembarked in Marseilles on the 14th of June 1916.

The same day he disembarked in Marseilles, he was reported illegally absent. Money stopped being sent home to Australia, and on the 22nd of October 1916 the base was asked about his absence however they had no further report. His wife last heard from him on the 25th of June and began writing letters to ranking officers and asking about his whereabouts. She was told by a soldier who had previously returned to Australia that he was living with a French lady in France. On September the 20th of 1916 she wrote a letter stating that she had not heard from him for weeks. She asks for any information they have on him and confirms that she is still living at the Royal Admiral Hotel. Mrs Foran wrote again on the 10th of April 1917 and said she cannot find any trace of him. Later in the letter she also says “My letters which I have written to him have all been returned to me since the date above [25th of June 1916] with the words on the outsides of them (not with unit unable to trace)” she wrote. On the 17th of December 1917, No.4775 Private Donald Foran was officially declared an illegal absentee. On the 8th of February 1918, there is some mention of an allotment being cancelled. It is unclear what type of allotment this was. Ms Foran sent another letter on the 16th of October 1918 saying that she had heard from another returned soldier that he had been caught and it was in the Advertiser that he had to undergo 15 years of penal servitude. However, this does not appear to be true, as official records do not record that he was ever apprehended. Margret tells the officer that she had not heard from him in 2 years and 3 months and would like to write to him. She also informs them of a change of address, as she has moved up to Port Pirie.

On the 27th of April 1920 Donald was Discharged from the AIF as a consequence of being illegally absent. 

On May the 22nd in 1941, a secretary from the A.I.F Base requested information about Donald Foran and if he was alive In 1919. They ask this as another returned soldier, Andreas Johanson No.3324, 46th Battalion also married Margret Ellen Foran in June 1919. Andreas and Margret wanted to adopt a child, but the marriage still between Donald and Margret was getting in the way. They wanted to find the information so they could set aside the marriage. There are no records of what happened to Donald Foran after being caught, and it is not clear if he made it back to Australia or indeed if he was alive after going missing at Marseille.