Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Henry Conlon was an only child, born on the 4th of November 1888 in Clarendon, South Australia. He was the son of John Henry Howard and Mary Conlon. In his formative years Henry moved from Clarendon and settled in Hyde Park where he was raised as a Roman Catholic, attending Goodwood Public School for the duration of his education (Unley Honour board, 2012). In October 1902 at the age of 14, Henry had his first run-in with the law. He was sentenced to seven days at Brooklyn Park Reformatory School for unlawfully bathing in the nude in Brown Hill Creek within view of the public. Not long after, in March 1904 Henry had his second run-in with the law, sentenced to 2 months at the Reformatory School for illegally obtaining almonds (State records of South Australia, 1902 – 1904). Aging out of school Henry went on to work as a labourer, consolidating his skills over the years, working in the field until he enlisted in WW1 in 1915 at the age of 26.

In August 1914 Britain declared war on Germany. Australia, part of the British Empire followed suit. Over 416,000 Australian men (awm.gov.au, 2024) enlisted in WW1 within the first six months. Henry was one of them, he enrolled voluntarily for Military Service in the AIF on the 27th of January 1915 at the Keswick Barrack, South Australia.  He was assigned to the 27th Battalion  4th Platoon, A Company at Mitcham Camp, south of Adelaide in March 1915 for basic military training.

On the 31st of May 1915 The 27th Battalion, Henry included, embarked from Adelaide to the Middle East, Egypt, sailing out of Adelaide on the troopship HMAT A2 Geelong. (See Figure 3). Arriving on the 6th of July, the 27th Battalion disembarked and commenced further training at the Tel-El Kabir Camp. After two months the 27th Battalion left the camp, requested as reinforcements, finding themselves in the fight at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli on the 12th of September (Anzac training camp, 2019).  It was during this fight that the ANZAC spirit was forged, where individuals imbued the qualities of courage, perseverance, endurance and integrity. Individuals such as Henry Conlon, although not all these qualities revealed themselves at once but throughout his service they certainly came to bear (Anzac portal, 2024).

During his time in Gallipoli Henry was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal. On the 6th of November Henry was admitted to an army hospital with Cerebro Spinal Meningitis followed by diarrhoea and then influenza. He was on and off the dangerously ill list for the remainder of the year. Meanwhile, the battalion evacuated Gallipoli in early December 1915, and returned to Egypt for training, although it was not until the 12th of January 1916 that Henry re-joined the Battalion.

As the war progressed, Henry, alongside the 27th Battalion was sent to assist in the Battle of Pozieres, embarking on the 15th of March, and disembarking on the 21st of March in Marseille, France. The Battalion then marched to Pozieres, and on April 7th, 1916, fought in the Battle of Pozieres. Five days into the Battle on the 12th of April, Henry became sick with Influenza. After he took some time to recover, Henry then re-joined the Battalion on the 24th of April in Pozieres only to be wounded in action on the 5th of August. Once recovered, Henry re-joined the Battalion. 

On the 5th of October, the Battalion encamped at Ypres, marching on to St Lawrence on the 16th of October, where they remained until early November. From here the 27th Battalion were involved in a Battle at Fleurs. During the Battle on the 11th of November, Henry came under gunfire and received a gunshot wound to his left thigh. He was treated at a medical facility and was very slow to recover. Once completely well, Henry was granted a period of leave, but unfortunately disobeyed military rules on the 5th of May 1917 by breaking the curfew. Henry was subject to a court martial and spent several months in military prison serving hard time (Australian War Memorial, 2024).  By mid-September, Henry, having served his sentence was returned to the 27th Battalion one day before the Battle of Menin Road, which began on the 20th of September 1917, ending five days later. Henry was demoted to Private.

Following the Battle of Menin Road the 27th Battalion was mobilised to the Battle of Broodseinde Ridge on the 4th of October, ending on the same day. Then came the Somme Offensive, where once again Henry received an injury on the 31st of October 1917. After recovering from his physical injury, Henry rejoined his unit on 4th of April 1918. By this time the 27th Battalion had been deployed to fight in the German Spring Offensive which ended on the 31st of May. Nine days post the offensive, the Battalion, alongside Henry, fought again, this time at the Battle of Hamel, beginning on the 10th of June 1918. Henry only saw one day of the war before he was wounded in action once again. He re-joined the Battalion two days before the Battle ended on the 4th of July 1918 (Australian War Memorial, 2024).

After a well earnt rest, on the 8th of August 1918, the 27th Battalion took part in the Battle of Amiens, ending four days later. This battle was known as the “Last Hundred Days” as the end of the war was approaching. On the 27th of August 1918, Henry Conlon was caught attempting to go AWOL (absent without leave) resulting in a court martial. This was succeeded by his court appearance on September 19th, 1918. It was documented that he had illegally absented himself without leave or other sufficient cause on the 27th of August 1918. He pleaded not guilty of Finding, not guilty of Desertion but guilty of being Absent without leave. After his court day, Henry re-joined the battalion on the 9th of October to await the outcome of the court-martial (Australian war memorial, 2024). 

On the 11th of November, 1918, World War One came to an end and Henry’s Court Martial was commuted as per the Australian Parliament (National Archives of Australia, 2024).

On the 28th of March 1919, Henry Conlon returned to Port Macquarie, Australia, and was awarded the Star Medal, the Victory Medal and the British War Medal for his service. (See Figures 5 and 6). 

Little is known about Henry’s life post World War One, although his body lies within the grounds of the AIF cemetery on West Terrace in Adelaide, having passed away at the age of 71 on March the 21st 1959 in Woodville.