MCGAHAN, Augustus John
| Service Number: | 204 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 6th Queensland Imperial Bushmen |
| Born: | Warwick, Queensland, Australia, 19 March 1879 |
| Home Town: | Emu Vale, Southern Downs, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Butcher |
| Died: | Suicide, Porewa (Pohonui), New Zealand, 10 December 1924, aged 45 years |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
Boer War Service
| 1 Oct 1899: | Involvement Private, 204 | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 Apr 1901: | Embarked Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 204, 6th Queensland Imperial Bushmen, AWM Boer War Unit Details, Murray p. 506 notes 6th QIB embarked at Pinkenba 4 Apr 1901 aboard Victoria arriving Cape Town 2 May 1901. | |
| 11 Apr 1902: | Discharged Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 204, 6th Queensland Imperial Bushmen, Qld State Archives- Boer War Service Paybooks 6th QIB p. 209, notes invalided returned to Australia arriving Brisbane 4 Apr 1902, discharged 11 Apr 1902. |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Claude McKelvey
Also served in WW1 as Augustine John McGahan, S.N. 1605 Private/Bombardier/Corporal, 12th Light Horse Regiment AIF. Refer to WW1 Attestation Paper which also notes previous service in 6th QIB, Boer War.
He went by the name Augustus John McGahan when he enlisted in 1901 in the 6th QIB and his details were published with the rank and file in The Queenslander, 13 Apr 1901, and he noted his N.O.K. as M. J. McGahan, Emu Vale, via Warwick. He is recorded under his birth name Augustine John McGahan in the Boer War Service Paybooks of the 6th QIB, p. 209, where it is noted he directed part of his pay to his brother Mr. M. J. (Michael James) McGahan, Emu Vale, via Warwick.
Augustine John McGahan was born on 19 Mar 1879 at Warwick, Queensland, a son to Patrick McGahan and Mary Teresa McGahan (nee Naven). When he enlisted in Sep 1915 for WW1 he noted he was still single.
His movements after returning to Warwick in 1902, following discharge from Boer War service, are unclear but he was working in New South Wales as a labourer when he enlisted in Sydney in Sep 1915 for WW1. He served conspicuously in WW1 and was awarded the Military Medal in 1918 by approval of the King.
Sometime after returning to Australia for discharge in 1919 he made his way to New Zealand. His WW1 service record notes he died in New Zealand in 1924. Newspaper reports indicate he died on 10 Dec 1924 at Pohonui (Porewa), a small rural community on the North Island of New Zealand. A report in the Auckland Star, 11 Dec 1924, p. 10, noted he was a butcher who had committed suicide by hanging, it was assumed due to business concerns.
(source- AWM Boer War Nominal Roll, Murray p. 513; Qld State Archives- Boer War Service Paybooks 6th QIB p. 209; National Archives Australia- WW1 service record; various newspaper articles, see links).
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