COLLUM, Hugh
| Service Numbers: | 464, 2340 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 7 July 1915, Returned to Australia 13 February 1917 Discharge date - 16 May 1917 Other details War service: Egypt, Western Front |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 52nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Waterford, Ireland, 3 June 1872 |
| Home Town: | Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Arteriosclerosis, Eventide Nursing Home, Sandgate, Queensland, Australia, 14 December 1946, aged 74 years |
| Cemetery: |
Lutwyche Cemetery, Brisbane, Qld ANZ-7-83-16 |
| Memorials: |
Boer War Service
| 1 Oct 1899: | Involvement Private, 464, 7th Battalion, Australian Commonwealth Horse |
|---|
World War 1 Service
| 7 Jul 1915: | Enlisted Australian Army (Post WW2), Private, 2340, 52nd Infantry Battalion, Returned to Australia 13 February 1917 Discharge date - 16 May 1917 Other details War service: Egypt, Western Front | |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Oct 1915: | Involvement Private, 2340, 26th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Warilda embarkation_ship_number: A69 public_note: '' | |
| 5 Oct 1915: | Embarked Private, 2340, 26th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Warilda, Brisbane | |
| 16 May 1917: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 2340, 52nd Infantry Battalion, 1st MD, medically discharged |
Help us honour Hugh Collum's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
From Australian Remembrance Army
Private Hugh Collum, an Australian Boer War and World War One veteran, is among almost 800 previously unmarked WWI veterans’ graves in Lutwyche Cemetery we have now marked with plaques in recognition of their service for Australia.
We unveiled his plaque in Lutwyche Cemetery on 15 April 2023, along with a further 246 plaques on the previously unmarked graves of Australian World War One veterans:
See Australian Remembrance Army Facebook page
Boer War: Service No 464, Private, 7th Battalion Commonwealth Horse
WWI: Service No 2340, Private, 52nd Battalion
Hugh Collum was born on 1 June 1873 at Waterford, Ireland, to Hugh Collum and Ann Collum, née Gault. By 1902, he was living in Brisbane, Queensland, and working as a printer.
On 12 May 1902, Hugh Collum joined the 7th Battalion Australian Commonwealth Horse at Wilston, Brisbane, for service in the South African War. His attestation recorded his birthplace as Waterford, Ireland, his age as 28 years, his occupation as printer, and his marital status as single. He nominated his mother, Mrs Hugh Collum, of Primrose Street, Bowen Hills, Brisbane, as his next of kin. He served as Private No. 464 with the 7th Battalion Australian Commonwealth Horse.
After the South African War, Collum remained in Queensland. On 16 December 1905, he married Eva May Craven.
On 7 July 1915, Hugh Collum enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force at Brisbane. He was 42 years of age, working as a printer, and nominated his wife, Mrs E. M. Collum, of Alfred Street, Valley, Brisbane, as his next of kin. His attestation papers also recorded extensive previous military experience.
Private Collum embarked from Brisbane aboard HMAT Warilda on 5 October 1915. After reaching Egypt, he was allotted to the 12th Battalion, joining it at Railhead on 1 March 1916. On 2 April 1916, at Serapeum, he was taken on strength of the 52nd Battalion, which became his recorded unit on the nominal roll. On 31 May 1916, he was transferred to the 13th Training Battalion as surplus to establishment.
Collum embarked from Alexandria on 7 June 1916 and disembarked at Marseilles, France, on 14 June 1916. His service on the Western Front was cut short by illness. In October 1916, he was admitted to the 26th General Hospital at Étaples with diabetes. He was transferred from France to England on 26 October 1916 and admitted to the 3rd Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Dartford on 30 October 1916.
On 21 November 1916, he was discharged from hospital and marched in to No. 2 Command Depot at Weymouth. His service record later described his disability as vesical irritation and debility, and he was selected for return to Australia on medical grounds.
Private Hugh Collum commenced his return to Australia from Plymouth aboard H.T. Benalla on 13 February 1917. Base Records notified his wife in March 1917 that he was expected to arrive in Brisbane about the beginning of April. He disembarked at Brisbane on 10 April 1917 and was discharged from the Australian Imperial Force at Brisbane on 16 May 1917 as medically unfit.
Following his discharge, war pension records connected Hugh, his wife Eva and their children with Primrose Street, Valley, Brisbane, and later Bowen Hills, Brisbane. Eva Collum died on 18 August 1938.
In September 1946, only weeks before the formal closure of Dunwich Benevolent Asylum, Hugh was admitted there from Brisbane General Hospital. His Dunwich record stated that he had no money or property and that no one was able to look after him.
Following the closure of the Dunwich institution, he was transferred to Eventide Nursing Home at Sandgate on 7 December 1946, where he died a week later, on 14 December, aged 73. He was buried three days later in Anzac Portion 7, Lutwyche Cemetery, Brisbane.
After decades without recognition at his place of burial, his grave now bears a plaque commemorating his service to Australia, ensuring his name endures among those remembered for their duty and sacrifice.
His identity and dignity have now been restored.
We have remembered him.
Lest We Forget
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