BROSNAN, John Cornelius
| Service Number: | 155 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry |
| Born: | Warwick, Queensland, Australia, 14 February 1874 |
| Home Town: | Killarney, Southern Downs, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Soldier |
| Died: | St Kilda East, Victoria, Australia, 9 March 1958, aged 84 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
St Kilda Cemetery, Victoria Roman Catholic, Compartment D, Grave 127 |
| Memorials: |
Boer War Service
| 1 Oct 1899: | Involvement Corporal, 155, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Nov 1899: | Embarked Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Corporal, 155, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry, AWM Boer War Unit Details, Murray p. 448 notes 1st QMI embarked 1 Nov 1899 aboard Cornwall arriving Cape Town 13 Dec 1899. | |
| 23 Jan 1901: | Discharged Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Corporal, 155, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry, AWM Boer War Unit Details, Murray p. 449 notes 1st QMI embarked 13 Dec 1900 returning to Australia aboard Orient arriving Brisbane 17 Jan 1901, disbanded 23 Jan 1901. | |
| 18 Sep 1901: | Honoured Mention in Dispatches, AWM Boer War Nominal Roll, Murray p. 451, notes Mentioned in Despatches, London Gazette, 18 Sep 1901. |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Claude McKelvey
John Cornelius Brosnan enlisted in 1899 with the 1st QMI and his details were published with the rank and file in The Brisbane Courier, 18 Nov 1899, where it was nted he was single and his contact/N.O.K. was c/- C. Brosnan, Killarney via Warwick. He would go on to be a career soldier.
He served the full tour of the 1st QMI returning to Brisbane aboard the Orient where he was discharged on 23 Jan 1901. After his discharge he received the Honour/Award of Mentioned in Despatches in the London Gazette, 18 Sep 1901.
Prior to enlisting in 1899 it appears he may have been serving with the Queensland Defence Force. His discharge paper on his Boer War Dossier notes that his address post discharge was Permanent Staff, indicating he remained serving with the Queensland Defence Force.
His Military Officers Record informs that he transferred from the Queensland Military Forces to the New South Wales Military Forces in 1903, this was post-federation and at that time all state military forces were now part of the commonwealth military forces. On his Oath of Allegiance on transfer he noted he was born at Warwick Qld and was single, and he had served for 5 years with the Qld Mounted Infantry with 2 of those years on the permanent staff.
John Cornelius Brosnan (recorded as Cornelius John Brosnan on BDM Qld birth register) was born on 14 Feb 1874 at Warwick, a son to Cornelius Brosnan and Mary Ann Brosnan (nee Dowries). He married Christina Lillian Lane in 1906 at Tamworth, NSW, and they had 2 children.
His father, Cornelius Brosnan, was a native of Ireland and had emigrated to Queensland about 1862 settling in the Killarney area where he pursued farming interests and raised a large family of 13 children. After transferring to NSW, John would marry Christina Lillian Lane in 1906 at Tamworth, NSW, where they would go on to have their first child. He rose through the ranks and by 1919 he had relocated his family to Victoria to further his military career, and where their second child was born.
His father Cornelius passed in 1919 following an accident in Killarney and Notices of Claims on his Estate were published in The Daily Standard (Brisb), 13 Dec 1920. His son John was one of the claimants recorded as residing at St Kilda, Victoria, with the occupation of Military Staff Officer. John was placed on the retired list on 14 Feb 1934 with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.
(source- AWM Boer War Nominal Roll, Murray p. 451; National Archives Australia- Boer War Dossier; National Archives Australia- Military Officers Record; Qld State Archives- Boer War Service Paybooks 1st QMI, Bk 1 p. 14).