COOPER, Kenneth Julian
| Service Number: | 590 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 11 August 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 2nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Randwick, New South Wales, Australia, 22 February 1895 |
| Home Town: | Mosman, Municipality of Mosman, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Sydney Technical High School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Electrical Engineer |
| Died: | Killed In Action, 3rd Australian Casualty Clearing Station, Grevillers, France, 9 April 1917, aged 22 years |
| Cemetery: |
Bapaume Australian Cemetery A. 15. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Cremorne St Peter's Anglican Church WW1 Honour Roll, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Mosman St. Clements Anglican Church Great War Roll of Honour, Sydney Technical High School WW1 Roll Of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 11 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 590, Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 Mar 1915: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 590, Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force | |
| 17 Mar 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, 2nd Infantry Battalion, Sydney | |
| 20 Dec 1915: | Involvement 2nd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Aeneas embarkation_ship_number: A60 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Dec 1915: | Embarked 2nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Aeneas, Sydney | |
| 21 Dec 1915: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 2nd Infantry Battalion | |
| 17 Dec 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 2nd Infantry Battalion | |
| 9 Apr 1917: | Involvement Lieutenant, 2nd Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: awm_unit: 2 Battalion awm_rank: Lieutenant awm_died_date: 1917-04-09 |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
Kenneth Julian COOPER, (Service Number 590) was born 22 February 1895 at Randwick. In 1910 at the age of 15 he commenced work as an electrical junior in Sydney with the Electrical Branch of the NSW Tramways. Over the next two years he worked at the City Sub Station, Waverley, Balmain and Newtown. On 21 July 1913 he became an Electrical Mechanics’ Assistant in the Signalling section and it was from this role that he was released from duty to join the Expeditionary Forces. In his Attestation Papers he describes his calling as ‘Electrical Engineer’. At the time of his enlistment in the AIF Cooper had 206 days service with the Naval and Military Expeditionary Force, which had ventured north from Australia to seize German colonies in the Pacific. How this service relates to his Tramway record card is unclear, as he had been absent from work since 17 August 1914. Immediately upon his discharge from the N & M E F, Cooper enlisted in the AIF on 17 March 1915.
He was wounded in action at Hermies, near Bullecourt, with shrapnel wounds to his abdomen on Easter Sunday night, April 1917, transferred to a Casualty Clearing Station but died the same day.
He is buried in the Bapaume Australian Cemetery.
Subsequently it was revealed that Cooper had left an ex-nuptial son, Kingsley John Dickinson, who was granted a pension of 20/- per fortnight, paid in trust to his mother Miss N. Dickinson. Contact with this child seems to have been lost as Cooper’s medals were given to his mother, on condition that they would be handed back, if the son, the rightful recipient, ever claimed them.
Submitted 6 June 2023 by John Oakes
Biography contributed by Carol Foster
Son of Basil Cooper and Maude Amy Cooper of Boyle Street, Mosmon, NSW
Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
Biography contributed by John Oakes
Kenneth Julian COOPER, (Service Number 590) was born 22nd February 1895 at Randwick. In 1910 at the age of 15 he commenced work as an electrical junior in Sydney with the Electrical Branch of the NSW Tramways. Over the next two years he worked at the City Sub Station, Waverley, Balmain and Newtown. On 21st July 1913 he became an Electrical Mechanics’ Assistant in the Signalling section. In his Attestation Papers he describes his occupation as ‘Electrical Engineer’. At the time of his enlistment in the AIF Kenneth had 206 days service with the Naval and Military Expeditionary Force, which had ventured north from Australia to seize German colonies in the Pacific. He enlisted in the AIF on 17th March 1915.
By August, Kenneth Cooper had applied for a commission as an officer in the AIF, and this was granted in December 1915. He was only 20 years old. He left Australia, as a 2nd Lieutenant, aboard HMAT ‘Aeneas’ on 20th December 1915. By March 1916 he had reached Egypt. By November he had reached England. He went to France in December and joined the 2nd Battalion. On 18th December he was promoted to Lieutenant. Over the next months he had a number of periods in hospital and training schools
He was wounded in action at Hermies, near Bullecourt, with shrapnel wounds to his abdomen on Easter Sunday night, April 1917. He was transferred to a Casualty Clearing Station but died on the same day.
He is buried in the Bapaume Australian Cemetery.
Subsequently it was revealed that Kenneth Cooper had left an ex-nuptial son, Kingsley John Dickinson, who was granted a pension of 20/- per fortnight, paid in trust to his mother Miss N. Dickinson. Contact with this child seems to have been lost as Cooper’s medals were given to his mother but this was on condition that they would be handed back if the son, who was the rightful recipient, ever claimed them.
- based on notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
Biography contributed by Sydney Technical High School
Kenneth Julian Cooper was born on the 22nd of February, 1895 in Ramsgate, New South Wales, Australia. Cooper was born to Basil Cooper and Amy Cooper (formerly Neilds) and had a brother, three years older than he was. (1) Cooper attended Sydney Technical High School during his early teenage years. After school he worked as a junior electrician for an electrical branch of NSW Tramways at the age of 15. (2) Over the next 2 years he would find similar work at the City Substation, Newtown, Waverley and Balmain. Cooper also had great interest in sports, especially rugby and cricket. Cooper played as a fullback for the St George District Amateur Rugby Football Club, as well as the Mortdale Cricket Club. (3) The National Library of Australia in the St George Call 1917 wrote, “He was bright, intelligent and generally well respected.” (4)
Cooper enlisted to the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on the 17th March 1915 as an officer. (5) Prior to the AIF enlistment, Cooper had been with the Naval and Military Expeditionary Force for a total of 209 days, with the objective of seizing German colonies in the Pacific. (6)
He was granted his commission as an officer in the AIF in early December, and left Australia on board the HMAT Aeneas for the Second Battalion on the 20th. (7) The following day on the 21st December 1915, he was promoted to Second Lieutenant. (8) By March 1916 Cooper had made it to Egypt, and then headed to France for the Western Front, joining the Second Battalion (Part of the 1st Division) in December. Cooper was promoted to Lieutenant on the 18th December 1916. Cooper saw his first major conflict early in 1917, where the AIF engaged German troops withdrawing from the “Outpost Villages”. Cooper’s Battalion was scheduled to advance in May of 1917 in order to provide support to the 4th division. (9) However, Cooper was fatally wounded on the 9th of April 1917 by a stray bullet, hitting him in the abdomen. He was admitted to the casualty clearing station, but passed away on the same day, most likely due to heavy loss of blood. Cooper is buried at the Bapaume Australian Cemetery. (10)
Cooper’s death was reported to his friends and family back in Australia. His brother continued to serve in France, and was discharged in 1919, moving to his wife’s hometown in New Jersey. (11) Cooper also had an ex-nuptial son, Kingsley John Dickinson, who was granted pensions for his father’s service. Cooper’s medals and salvaged belongings were given to his mother, on the condition that she would pass it to Dickinson, the rightful recipient of his possessions. (12)
References
John Oakes, Cooper, Kenneth Julian, Virtual War Memorial Australia
John Oakes, Cooper, Kenneth Julian, Virtual War Memorial Australia
Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Monday 22 July 1912, page 5
St George Call (Kogarah, NSW : 1904 - 1957), Saturday 21 April 1917, page 4
PTE Kenneth Julian Cooper, LT Kenneth Julian Cooper, Australian Commonwealth Military Services
Anonymous, Second Infantry Battalion, Virtual War Memorial Australia
John Oakes, Cooper, Kenneth Julian, Virtual War Memorial Australia
John Oakes, Cooper, Kenneth Julian, Virtual War Memorial Australia
Anonymous, Second Infantry Battalion, Virtual War Memorial Australia
Lieutenant Kenneth Julian Cooper, 2nd Battalion, Australian Red Cross Society Wounded and Missing Enquiry Bureau Files, 1914-1918 War 1DRL/0428
Anonymous, Doing Our Bit, Mosman, 1914-1918
John Oakes, Cooper, Kenneth Julian, Virtual War Memorial Australia
Bibliography
John Oakes, Cooper, Kenneth Julian, Virtual War Memorial Australia, Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Monday 22 July 1912, St George Call (Kogarah, NSW : 1904 - 1957), Saturday 21 April 1917, PTE Kenneth Julian Cooper, LT Kenneth Julian Cooper, Australian Commonwealth Military Services, Anonymous, Second Infantry Battalion, Virtual War Memorial Australia, Lieutenant Kenneth Julian Cooper, 2nd Battalion, Australian Red Cross Society Wounded and Missing Enquiry Bureau Files, 1914-1918, Anonymous, Doing Our Bit, Mosman, 1914-1918
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