Contents

• Qualifications for Inclusion
• Finding the Irish Born
• Home Service Enlistments
• Multiple Enlistments
• Duplicate Enlistments
• Enlistment Date
• Age on Enlistment

Qualifications for Inclusion

The qualifications for inclusion in the Irish Anzacs database are that the person:

• was born in Ireland; and
• enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) (including the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (ANMEF) and the Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS)).

Enlistment requires that the person took the oath or affirmation of allegiance and was passed medically fit: “The ‘AIF’ officially includes all men attested after medical examination” (AG Butler, Official History of the Australian Army Medical Services, 1914–1918, Volume III – Special Problems and Services, AWM, Canberra, 1943, p. 892).

The National Archives of Australia (NAA) holds two collections or series relating to such enlistments:

• B2455, First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920, with 376,500 items; and
• MT1486/1, Applications to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force, with about 95,000 items and growing.

The records in each series are distinguished by a unique Item ID. That Item ID has been adopted as a unique identifier for each record in the database and named “SoldierID”.

Finding the Irish born

In series B2455 the Item Title in most cases includes the person’s place of birth (POB). However, in some cases the place of birth is not shown in the Item Title, either because it is indicated as POB “N/A” or the item relates to a soldier who also served in the Second World War and his service record has been moved to the series relating to service in that war.

Searching on “Ireland” in the Item Title for series B2455 locates most enlistees in the AIF who were born in Ireland. However, because the Item Title includes surnames of the enlistee and the enlistee’s next of kin, that search also locates items where the surname of the enlistee or the enlistee’s next of kin is “Ireland” even though the enlistee might have been born elsewhere.

False positives might also be displayed because the designation of Ireland as the enlistee’s POB is incorrect (eg. “Glasgow Ireland”) or the POB in the Item Title is not an accurate transcription of the handwritten information in the service record or the service record raises a doubt as to the accuracy of that designation:

• John Quillinan (Item ID 8203717 ) enlisted under the name James Lillas stating a POB of Limerick. However, his brother James Quillinan made a statutory declaration on 1/3/1921 stating that the soldier’s correct name was John Quillinan and that he was born at Kyneton, Victoria.
• Timothy O’Grady (Item ID 8395254) enlisted three times under the name James Tullock with each Attestation Form showing a different POB: Milton, New Zealand; Tralee, Kerry; and Christchurch, New Zealand. The NAA Item Title shows Tralee, Kerry.
• Henrietta Joan Turner (Item ID 1920497) has a number of Attestation Forms in her Service Record some showing her POB as Sydney, while others show it as Shannon, Ireland.
• William John Barber (AKA William Baker) (Item ID 3048834) whose Attestation Form for his first enlistment shows POB as Ireland, while that for his second enlistment shows POB as Fulham, England.
• Cecil Leslie Goding (Item ID 4818087) shows POB as Churchill, Ireland, but Ancestry.com shows it as Cowes, Victoria.
• Patrick Barker (Item ID 5284107), who served under the name Patrick Hogan, was killed in action and his father stated on the ROH circular that his POB was Glasgow, Scotland.
• Lisle Foley (Item ID 3010444), who served under the name Edward Kelly died of wounds and his mother stated on the ROH Circular that his POB was Brisbane.
• Walter James McLaurie (Item ID 1952451), who states his POB as “Londonderry, Yorkshire, England”.
• Peter Molloy (Item ID 7983304), whose POB is shown in the Item Title as “Airdrea Ireland” when the attestation form shows it as “Eairdrie Lanarckshire”.
• Thomas Donnelly (Item ID 3514136), whose POB is shown as “Harwood Ireland”, whereas his embarkation roll entry shows his place of residence as “Harwood Island, Clarence River, NSW”, suggesting his POB was in fact Harwood Island. This was confirmed by searches of his two brothers Robert and Albert who were born in northern rivers district of NSW.
  
• Andrew Foura (Item ID 4023667), whose POB is shown as “Kilkenny Sth Australia” but the Item Title shows it as “Kilkenny Ireland”.
• Edward Francis Grace (Item ID 4668798), whose POB is shown as “Kilkenny South Aust” but the Item Title shows it as “Kilkenny Ireland”.
• Alexander Robert Irwin (Item ID 7362184), whose POB is shown as Singleton NSW but the Item Title shows it as Belfast, Ireland.
• Gusta Kaarna (Item ID 11992795) whose POB is shown as “Koka Finland” but the Item Title shows it as “Koka Ireland”.
• Arthur Michael Gunning (Item ID 4380051) whose Attestation Form for his first enlistment shows POB as Leicester, England, while that for his second enlistment shows POB as Dublin, Ireland.

While searching on “Ireland” locates most Irish-born enlistees, further searching is necessary as the Item Title might not contain the word “Ireland” even though the enlistee was born there. In some such cases the POB may refer to the county of birth only. Accordingly, I have also searched on the name of each of the 32 counties plus Belfast.

In some cases the POB misstates the country of birth:

• George Kirkland (Item ID 7372752) was born at Kilrea in County Derry but the NAA Item Title shows his POB as Derby England.

In some cases the POB is uncertain:

• The Service Record of Godfrey Francis Hanlon (Item ID 4255353 and 9518385) includes two Attestation Forms, one giving POB as Brunswick, Victoria and the other Ireland. (His record remains in the database, pending review.)

Items where the POB is shown as “N/A” present a special problem as the NAA cataloguers have not been able to identify the country of birth. Preliminary searching of those records indicates that they will not readily yield up the enlistee’s POB. But some have been found based on extraneous information.

In series MT1486/1 the Item Title in most cases does not include the person’s POB. Furthermore, although the NAA’s online RecordSearch includes the Item Title, not all of the service records themselves are available online. Accordingly, the task of identifying the Irish-born included in that series is much more difficult than for series B2455. However, the number involved may not be large as most of those whose service records are to be found in this series and not B2455 did not go on to enlist in the AIF.

Home Service Enlistments

Although the AIF was raised specifically for service overseas, more than 13% of those who enlisted, or about 50 000, did not embark for overseas. For a discussion of the statistics of the AIF see David Noonan, Those We Forget: Recounting Australian Casualties of the First World War, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 2014.

Some changed their minds about enlisting and absented themselves from further service, some were discharged soon after enlistment as medically unfit or as not likely to become an efficient soldier, while others served at home. Even though the title of series MT1486/1 is “Applications to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force”, it includes the service records of many who not only applied to enlist but who were attested after being passed medically fit.

Accordingly, the dissection between inclusion in B2455 and MT1486/1 appears in some instances to be arbitrary as demonstrated by the case of Maurice Danaher. This man was passed medically fit for active service and attested on 17/1/1917. However, on 2/2/1917 he was re-examined and having been found unfit was discharged on 5/2/1917. He has both a B2455 file (Item ID 3485429) and a MT1486/1 file (Item ID 6516889), with the latter consisting entirely of a copy of the attestation form in his B2455 file. Similar cases are:

• William Joseph Bates (Item IDs 3056987 and 6515772)
• Richard Bateman (Item IDs 3056420 and 6536801)

There are many other examples of the apparent arbitrariness of the dissection process. Some in B2455 may never have been passed medically fit:

• Michael White of Drumaghree, County Leitrim was attested on 3 October 1914 (Item ID 1850044). His file comprises 8 pages – two attestation forms, one of which is a certified copy. On page 3 of the certified copy the medical certificate bears the notation “Unfit”. On page 1 of the other attestation form at the top left corner is the word “Unfit”. In each case the medical certificate is dated 21/9/1914. (His record remains in the database, pending review.)
• William Joseph Mitchell of Galway (Item ID 7984074) was found unfit and never attested. (He has been removed from the Irish Anzacs database).
• John Patrick Hogan (Item ID 4760660) had his enlistment rejected because of a hernia and neither copy of his Attestation Form in the file is attested. Although his application to enlist states he was “Fit for active service”, the recruiting officer’s certificate shows he was rejected. (His record remains in the database, pending review.)

Some in B2455 may never have been attested:

• Patrick Clark (Item ID 1967627) has a service record which comprises only the attestation form of which only the first page is completed and which bears the annotation “Operation Right Kidney Unfit”. (His record remains in the database, pending review.)
• John Patrick Connolly (Item ID 3278539) has a service record comprising an AIF attestation form and a Permanent Forces attestation form, neither of which includes a signed attestation. (Connolly seems to have two service records; see also Item ID 3277959.)
• Dennis Driscoll (Item ID 3522239) has a service record which comprises only the attestation form of which only the first page is completed and which bears the annotation “Deferred for teeth”. (His record remains in the database, pending review.)
• The Service Record of James Brownlie (Item ID 3132118) includes two copies of the Attestation Form and an Application to Enlist. In neither copy of the Attestation Form is the attestation completed or signed. (His record remains in the database, pending review.)
• The Service Record of George McDonagh (Item ID 1942080) comprises one copy of the Attestation Form, in which the attestation and medical certificate are blank. (His record remains in the database, pending review.)
• The Service Record of John Lawrence O’Connell (Item ID 7993813) comprises one copy of the Attestation Form, in which the attestation page is blank. (His record remains in the database, pending review.)
• The Service Record of Frank Whelan (Item ID 8383624) comprises one copy of the Attestation Form, in which the attestation and medical certificate are unsigned. A handwritten note on the first page states, “Eyesight defective. Unfit”. (His record remains in the database, pending review.)

Some in B2455 were re-examined soon after enlistment and thereafter discharged medically unfit:

• Andrew Barry of unknown locality (Item ID 3052982) enlisted 3/9/1918. His enlistment was cancelled on 13/9/1918 after he was re-examined and found to be medically unfit.
• Michael Carney (Item ID 3206841), who enlisted 20/3/1918, was re-examined 26/3/1918 and his enlistment cancelled.
• Michael Kennedy (Item ID 7367367), who enlisted 9/8/1918 at Wagga Wagga had his enlistment cancelled on 12/8/1918 after a Medical Board examination at Victoria Barracks Sydney found him unfit for active service.
• Samuel McConnell (Item ID 1940511), who enlisted 2/7/1918 at Newcastle had his enlistment cancelled as of 4/7/1918 after a Medical Board examination on 5/7/1918 at Victoria Barracks Sydney found him unfit for active service.

Some in B2455 had a very short period of service:

• John Charles White of Londonderry, County Derry was attested on 21/9/1914 (Item ID 1849646). His attestation form has the words “Cancelled” and “Discharged” written across the first page and his service shown as ending 4/10/1914.
• Charles Whiteside of an unknown locality was attested on 2/11/1915 (Item ID 8386419). He was discharged on 22/11/1915 for making disloyal utterances.

Some enlistees whose service records are in B2455 enlisted explicitly for home service only:

• Edmond Connors (Item ID 3279701) enlisted for home service 11/3/1916 and was discharged 14/12/1916. He re-enlisted 16/4/1917 and was discharged c.19/10/1917.
• John Fogarty (Item ID 3912956) enlisted for home service 23/3/1916 and was discharged 19/7/1916. He re-enlisted for home service on 24/7/1916 and was discharged 5/3/1918.
• John Hickey O’Shea (Item ID 8003637) enlisted for home service after he was found unfit for active service.
• Michael Power (Item ID 8022010) had his original enlistment on 3/3/1916 rejected but he enlisted again on 13/3/1916 for home service only.
• Frank Vincent Roberts (Item ID 8035317) enlisted after being fit only for home service.

Some service records in B2455 contain no information at all about the soldier’s service apart from his enlistment:

• Robert Harrington (Item ID 4420681)
• Maurice Reidy (Item ID 8027825)

And series B2455 includes at least one soldier, James Anderson (Item ID 1976982), whose attestation form is for the Citizen Forces not the AIF.

Yet, many who enlisted for home service and whose records are in MT1486/1 served for many years. Many home service enlistees signed up on forms that were standard AIF forms on which the oath refers to service in the AIF. In addition, the military authorities routinely regarded such enlistees as members of the AIF. For example, in the file of Private Samuel Cardwell in MT1486/1 (Item ID 6534619) there is a letter dated 7/2/1936 from Base Records to the Official Secretary (Military), Australia House, London outlining Cardwell’s service “in the Australian Imperial Force”.

Consequently, the Irish Anzacs database includes records in series B2455 and series MT1486/1 of Irish-born enlistees, who were attested after being passed medically fit, even though they may have only signed up or been found medically fit for home service. The database does not include those in MT1486/1 who enlisted in the Citizen Forces or where there is no evidence of an oath being taken (apart from chaplains and nurses whose service records often lack an attestation page, even those in B2455). In addition, records in series B2455 that do not meet the criteria of Irish birth and enlistment will be excluded from the database once their files are reviewed.

Multiple Enlistments

A number of service records indicate that the person enlisted more than once. In almost all cases of multiple enlistments the person’s service record includes all that person’s attestation forms. The person with the highest number of enlistments is Edward Toner (Item ID 8393103) who enlisted on six occasions.

However, in some cases the multiple enlistments were not detected by the archivists compiling series B2455, so that some persons have more than one service record. They include:

• Walter Brazil (Item IDs 3115131 and 3115203);
• Charles Cullen, who may have enlisted four times, with three separate service records (Item IDs 3474284, 3474288, 3474291);
• John Edwards (Item IDs 1935002 and 1935058;
• Henry Langtry (Item IDs 7376582, 7376583 and 7376584);
• John O’Mara (Item IDs 8001617 and 8001620);
• William Ross (Item ID 8038445 and 8038467).

The total number of enlistments is quite high, such that earlier estimates of the number of Irish Anzacs was about 6600. However, when the multiple enlistments were discounted the estimate was reduced to about 6000.

Duplicate Enlistments

In at least one case there are two service records for the one enlistment:

• John Joseph O’Connor (AKA Connor) (Item IDs 3279438 and 7991734). Item ID 3279438 UUID 970 has been removed from the database (30/3/2016).

In some cases it is not easy to establish the true situation. The service record for John Patrick Connolly (Item ID 3278539) includes on page 1 of his Attestation Form an annotation in red ink stating, “Identical w/- Connolly JP 44 Bn Depo”. The Item Title for that service record (Item ID 3277959) shows his surname spelt “Connelly”. An annotation in red ink on page 1 of that Attestation Form states, “Identical w/- 33 Connolly JP Depo”. The service record for Connolly does not show what he did after enlisting in 1914. He may have re-enlisted on 31/5/1916.

In some cases a file might contain the service records of more than one person with the same name. They include:

• John O’Brien (Item ID 8003246);
• Thomas Murphy (Item ID 7990403). Each Thomas Murphy has a POB of Dublin. Service number 6524 enlisted in 15th Battalion 27/5/1916, served overseas, went missing 11/4/1917 (Bullecourt), was a Prisoner of War and was discharged 8/6/1919. Service number 18005 enlisted 3/3/1917 and was discharged 24/6/1917.
• James Gallagher (Item ID 4035786). Both are from Donegal but the Birth Town, NOK, age and personal details are different.
• John Gallagher (Item ID 4035802). Both are from Donegal but the Birth Town, NOK, age and personal details are different.
• Thomas Kelly (Item ID 3011462). One has a POB of Queenstown an age of 22 6/12. He enlisted 5/5/1916 at Fremantle in 11^th Battalion and was discharged 21/7/1916. The other has a POB of Belfast and an age of 43 2/12. He enlisted 20/11/1915 at Brisbane in 42^nd Battalion and was discharged 12/4/1916.

Enlistment Date

Determining the appropriate date of enlistment is not without problems. The attestation form has six places for the insertion of a date:

• page 1 at the top there is “Joined on”;
• page 1 at the bottom is a place to insert a date on which the answers to the questions above are declared to be true;
• page 2 at the top there is a place for an attesting officer to sign and date a certificate in the case of an enlistee who has been naturalised that the questions and answers were read to the enlistee and naturalisation papers were examined and checked;
• page 2 in the centre is the oath of allegiance which is dated;
• page 3 in the centre is a medical certificate which is dated; and
• page 3 at the bottom there is a dated certificate by a commanding officer certifying that the attestation is correct.

Each of those dates can be at variance, sometimes by many months. In compiling the database the date of the oath of allegiance has been adopted as the enlistment date unless it is blank in which case the enlistment date is determined by reference to one of the other dates in the attestation form or in another document in the file (eg a letter from Base Records listing the soldier’s service or an application for a commission).

Age on Enlistment

The age on enlistment shown in the database is for the most part the age that the enlistee nominated on the enlistment attestation form. It may not be correct for a number of reasons. Many enlistees put their age up or down so as to meet the age requirements for enlistment. Also, the enlistment attestation form had two places for an enlistee to state their age, on page 1 and page 3. In a number of cases the two stated ages do not agree. In such cases I have generally adopted the age as stated on page 3 unless there was other information indicating a different age. In a few cases I have relied on extraneous sources to verify an age.