Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Life before the war
 
Harold George Cole was born In Adelaide, South Australia. He was married to Mrs Mary Anne V Cole, he was Roman Catholic and worked as a salesman. Before the War, he lived on Sydenham Road, Norwood, South Australia. His next to kin was his wife, Mrs Mary Anne V Cole. Harold George had medium complexion with brown hair and brown eyes. His chest measurements were 33-35 inches, he was 5 feet and 5 inches tall and weighed 128 pounds. Harold George enlisted on the 1st May 1916 and embarked on the 19th September 1916. He was 25 years and 6 months old when he embarked. He sailed from Melbourne and caught HMAT A73 Commonwealth boat to the Western Front. His service number was 368/368A. 
 
Life during the war
 
Harold George Cole decided to go to war as all the men at the time decided to go to war as they thought it would be a fun and interesting adventure. Harold was in the 2nd Machine Gun Battalion which was formed in 1918. The battalion had around 64 machine guns and took part towards the end of the war. The battalion’s unit colour patch was a black diamond with a gold centre which resembled them being a machine gun unit. His role was big because at the time of World War 1 the machine gun was the deadliest weapon. 
 
He was wounded in action a few times. He got a severe shrapnel wound in his right knee and was admitted to the Southern General Hospital (1). Due to this a letter was sent home to his wife to say that he had been wounded and was being transferred to several different hospitals.. He returned to Australia safely but after the War he had a house fire and lost his disembarkation papers and had to write a letter to get another copy.
 
He was awared two medals which were the British War memorial medal and the Victory medal. He disembarked from Plymouth on the 29th June 1919 and returned to Australia August 1919.
 
 
Life after the war
 
Harold George Cole was one of the lucky soldiers who was able to arrive home safely after the War. After the war, he had a house fire and lost his disembarkation papers and had to write a letter to get another copy. In the letter, he had to include his enlistment and disembarkation dates and he had to declare that the papers were not the hand of any other person.

 
  Bibliography
 
1.    https://sarcib.ww1.collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/packet-content/53041#https://sarcib.ww1.collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/sites/default/files/packet_images/4599/SRG76_1_4599_10.jpg 
2.    https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3267509&S=16&R=0
3.    https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/U51541
4.    https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P10712168
5.    https://rslvirtualwarmemorial.org.au/explore/units/370
6.    https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/rslvwm/comfy/cms/files/files/000/001/005/original/ResearchProfile_WWII.pdf
7.    https://rslvirtualwarmemorial.org.au/explore/people/796207
8.    http://nominal-rolls.dva.gov.au