BOLGER, Arthur Ernest
| Service Number: | 1338 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 2 November 1914, Warragul, Victoria |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 14th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Carlton, Victoria, Australia, 1893 |
| Home Town: | Frankston, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Frankston State School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Gallipoli, Turkey, 27 April 1915 |
| Cemetery: |
Quinn's Post Cemetery, ANZAC Special Memorial 33 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Frankston Avenue of Honour Memorial, Frankston Great War Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 2 Nov 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1338, Warragul, Victoria | |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Dec 1914: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 1338, 14th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Berrima embarkation_ship_number: A35 public_note: '' | |
| 22 Dec 1914: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 1338, 14th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Berrima, Melbourne | |
| 27 Apr 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 1338, 14th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by John Edwards
"...1338 Private Arthur Ernest Bolger, 14th Battalion, of Frankston, Vic. A draper's assistant prior to enlistment, Pte Bolger embarked with the 1st Reinforcements from Melbourne on HMAT Berrima on 22nd December 1914. He was killed in action at Gallipoli on 27th April 1915, aged 21, and is buried in the Quinn's Post Cemetery." - SOURCE (www.awm.gov.au)
Biography contributed by Sue Robinson
Arthur Ernest Bolger was born in Carlton, Victoria, in 1893. He may have been born to an unmarried mother....whatever the reason he eventually ended up in the Ragged Boys Home where he was "adopted" by the Matron, Charlotte Bolger. This home was originally based in La Trobe Street in the City and housed children from Melbourne's slums, but had moved to Frankston by 1911.
He attended Frankston Primary School (known as Davey St State School) and became a Draper's Assistant after leaving school...probably at a reasonably young age.
He made the decision to join the AIF in the early months of the conflict. War was declared in August 1914 and Arthur enlisted in Warrigul on November 2 of that same year. Was he looking for excitement or was he motivated by a sense of duty and Patriotism?
Incidentally, possibly the very first shot in Australia's WW1 experience may have been the shot fired from the guns situated at Fort Nepean near Portsea across the bows of the German cargo steamer SS Pfalz on August 4. This news would certainly have created quite a stir in Arthur's home town of nearby Frankston.
After embarking on HMAT Berrima on December 22 1914 his journey to the Dardenelles began. From Alexandria the Brigade went to Lemnos then landed at the beach that became synonomous with the ANZAC tradition on April 25. Tragically he was killed in action at Gallipoli only 2 days later, on April 27, 1915. He was only 21 years of age. His grave is to be found in the Quinn's Post Cemetary.
He had been involved in some of the toughest action. The War Diaries of 27/4 record: "In the evening several attempts were made by the enemy to break through our line without success." On 28/4 some 31 men are listed as having been killed, all nameless except for the Officers names. Quinn's Post and Courtney's Post saw "heavy infantry fire" and "continued shrapnel fire."
Amazingly this may have been the impetus for his brother, Godfrey George Bolger (born in Richmond in 1897) to enlist on July 6, at the tender age of 18 years and 4 months. Geoff, as he was known, joined the 8th Light Horse, probably because he had been a carrier in civilian life and knew his way around horses. Thankfully he survived the conflict.
The AWM records indicate that Arthur's war medals were sent to his Foster mother Charlotte and in 1917 she was granted a 10 shilling pension on account of her loss.
She placed the following poem in a newspaper under the section The Anzac Heroes:
"The years may wipe out many things, But this they wipe out never_ The memory of those happy days When we were all together."
Inserted by his loving mother.
My involvement with Arthur Ernest Bolger occurred because I was a Secondary School teacher with a superb group of young boys who were very interested in History. We began a project to research the first resident of Frankston who was killed at Gallipoli...and thus began our association with A.E. Bolger.
The group investigated his short life and went on to be instrumental in an account of his demise that was read at the local ANZAC Day ceremony.
One member of the team tracked down his missing medals and the group were lucky enough to have a guided tour of the local RSL club due to their efforts. The Star Medal is in the Frankston RSL sub-branch WW1 collection but till the work undertaken by this group of students, the fate of his British War Medal and Victory Medal was unclear.
It now appears Charlotte Bolger's father, John James Patterson, gained possession of the missing 2 medals, but sadly after his death they disappeared. Sadly somehow Private Bolger's British War Medal was sold on ebay in October 2014 for $355.
The investigation was a great one for the group, with lessons encompassing the background to WW1, an individual's motivation for enlisting, the aftermath of war and how we commemorate these long ago events today
Click images to start slideshow.