MONTAGUE, Eugene Graham
| Service Numbers: | 239, 628 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 6th Queensland Imperial Bushmen |
| Born: | Essex, England, United Kingdom, 1858 |
| Home Town: | Bulimba, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Soldier |
| Died: | Natural Causes, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 23 January 1931 |
| Cemetery: |
Toowong (Brisbane General) Cemetery, Queensland Plot: 10-62-6 |
| Memorials: |
Boer War Service
| 1 Oct 1899: | Involvement Private, 239, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Nov 1899: | Embarked Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 239, 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. | |
| 26 Sep 1900: | Discharged Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 239, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry, National Archives Australia- Boer War Dossier notes invalided returned to Australia aboard Nineveh arriving Brisbane 19 Sep 1900, discharged 26 Sep 1900. | |
| 20 Aug 1901: | Embarked Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 628, 6th Queensland Imperial Bushmen, AWM Boer War Nominal Roll, Murray p. 506 notes the he was part of 1st Draft of the 6th QIB embarking at Sydney 20 Aug 1901 aboard Britannic arriving at Cape Town 22 Sep 1901. | |
| 12 Jun 1902: | Discharged Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 628, 6th Queensland Imperial Bushmen, Qld State Archives- Boer War Service Paybooks 5th QIB, Bk 4 p. 66, notes returned to Australia aboard Aurania arriving Brisbane 5 Jun 1902, discharged 12 Jun 1902. |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Claude McKelvey
Eugene Graham Montague served in the Burmah Campaign and twice in the South African (Boer) war. First service was in the Burmah campaign with the 1st Battalion Essex Regiment (formerly 44th) and he was discharged in India. Second service was as a Private S.N. 239 with the 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry, B Coy., Boer war. Second service was as a Private S.N. 628 in the 6th Queensland Imperial Bushmen (1st Draft), Boer war.
It is unclear when he came to Australia but he was in Cooktown, Queensland, arriving aboard the Douro in 1885 after he was rescued by the ships crew from Peone Island in the Hermit Island Group (PNG). Captain Sorenson and the Douro were seized in Cooktown on charges of piracy and he gave evidence of his voyage with them to Cooktown.
When he first enlisted in 1899 with the 1st QMI (B Company) and his details were published with the rank and file in The Brisbane Courier, 18 Nov 1899, he noted he was married and his address was c/- Mr. Halley, Morningside. In the Boer War Service Paybooks for the 1st QMI, Bk 2 p. 63, it is noted he directed part of his pay to his wife Mrs. Annie Montague, Morningside. He was invalided from this service and discharged in Brisbane on 26 Sep 1900.
He then later joined again with the 6th QIB and was selected as part of the 1st Draft of the 6th that embarked on 20 Aug 1901, some 4 months after the main 6th QIB had left. The men selected in the 1st Draft in the main consisted of men who had previously served in previous contingents in South Africa, and were being sent as reinforcements for the 5th and 6th QIB contingents already in South Africa.
The men in the draft were not entered on the original nominal roll of the 6th QIB. He was, however, recorded in the Boer War Service Paybooks for the 5th QIB (to which he was allotted), Bk 4 p. 66, where it is noted he directed part of his pay to his wife Annie Emma Montague, James St, Bulimba. He returned from this service and was discharged in Brisbane on 12 Jun 1902.
Eugene Graham Montague was born in 1858 in Essex, England, a son to Henry (Harry) Graham Montague and Emma Montague (nee Dellar). He was twice married. His first marriage (date and place unknown) was to Ellen Selina Willis and they had 4 children in Qld between 1888 and 1894. By 1898 he was married to Annie Emma Hermann and they had 4 children in Queensland between 1898 and 1916. He passed at the age of 85 and his obituary noted he had been a resident for many years in the Toowong district of Brisbane.
(source- AWM Boer War Nominal Roll, Murray p. 455 & 518; National Archives Australia- Boer War Dossier 1st service; Qld State Archives- Boer War Service Paybooks 1st QMI, Bk 2 p. 63, and 5th QIB, Bk 4 p. 66; various newspaper articles, see links).