ROACH, Michael
| Service Number: | 54498 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 9 April 1918 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 34th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Wexford Ireland, 26 November 1882 |
| Home Town: | Surry Hills, City of Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 9 Apr 1918: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 54498, 1st to 15th (NSW) Reinforcements | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Jun 1918: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 54498, 1st to 15th (NSW) Reinforcements, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '20' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: SS Field Marshal embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 10 Dec 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 54498, 34th Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Steve Larkins
Michael Roach
Service history extracted from Service Record
Enlisted 9 April 1918
Embarked Sydney, 19 June 1918; admitted to ship's hospital, at sea, 19 July 1918; discharged from ship's hospital, 27 July 1918; disembarked London, 26 August 1918. This late in the war, it was not unknown for ships that had embarked to be rturned around as it was apparent that the war would not go on for much longer.
Marched into 14th Training Bn, Codford, 27 August 1918, and allotted to Reinforcements, 30th Bn.
Transferred to 34th Bn, 26 September 1918.
By the 5th October the AIF Was out of the line and had conclded operations so the imperative of getting reinforcements to the Front began to diminish markedly.
Private Roach was charged with being absent without leave from 2359, 24 October, to 1945, 25 October 1918: charge dismissed.
He proceeded overseas to France, 22 January 1919. By this stage troops were being rapidly schedled for transit back to Australia with those with longest service prioritised. There were still lots of tasks to be done. It was also about this time that many new arrivals were recruited by the British for service in Russia
Private Roach Admitted to hospital, 26 February 1919 (mumps); discharged to duty, 18 March 1919; rejoined Bn, 19 March 1919.
Transferred to Graves Registration Detachment, 9 April 1919. These detachments faced the massive and extremely disqieting task of recovering identofying (where possible) and re-interring the remains of hundreds of thousands of men buried in field cemeteries, concentrating them in what were to become the Commonwealth War Graves Commission sites so familiar to travellers in northern France and Belgium in recent times.
Detached to 34th Bn, 17 May 1919. Marched out to United Kingdom for return to Australia, 19 August 1919; marched into No 2 Group, Sutton Veny, 21 August 1919.
Commenced return to Australia on board HT 'Port Denison', 25 September 1919; disembarked Sydney, 17 November 1919; discharged (termination of period of enlistment), Sydney, 10 December 1919.
Medal: British War Medal
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