James Hugh O'Neill KEARNEY
Year of Birth: 1893
Place of Birth: Eulo, Queensland, Australia
Date of Enlistment: 13 March 1915
Date and Place of Embarkation: Not known
Ship: Not known
Rank: 2nd Lieutenant
Unit(s): 7th Machine Gun Company
Regimental Number: N/A
Died: 5 June 1918
James Hugh O’Neill Kearney was born 26 September 1893 in Eulo, South West Queensland to James Anderson Kearney and his wife Winifred Mary O’Neill. He was their second child with three sisters (Estella b. 1892) Mabel (b. 1893), Donal (b. 1896), Mona (b. 1898) and Clement (b. 1905). Both his brothers enlisted and returned to Australia.
James enlisted in the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (known as the “Dirty 500”) in August 1914 that left Cairns on the Kanowna on 8 August 1914 for the Thursday Island garrison duty. They were to take part in the capture of German New Guinea but due to the trouble caused by the firemen on the troopship, it returned to Townsville in September and the soldiers were discharged on 18 September 1914.
James Kearney subsequently enlisted in the AIF on 13 March 1915. He was 20 years 6 months of age, 5 feet 4½ inches tall and weighed 10 stone 2 pounds. He had a fair complexion, blue eyes and light brown hair. His religion was Roman Catholic and his occupation was “Clerk”. He named his father as his next of kin.
He was appointed to “C” Coy on 8 June 1915 at Alderley in Brisbane and promoted to 2nd Lieutenant on 24 August 1915. In September he sailed for Egypt in charge of 4 Reinforcements 25 Battalion and left Egypt early in 1916 in charge of the first lot of Australians for France.
On 7 May at Armentieres France he contracted Cerebro spinal meningitis and was admitted to No. 7 General Hospital. He was discharged to 14 Stat. Hosp. Boulogne on 11 June then sent to 3 London General Hospital on 16 June then to Welwyn on 21 June. He was unconscious for 4 days. He was considered unfit for “general service” for 8 months so was returned to Australia.
On the 14 June 1917, he again embarked from Sydney on the HMAT Hororata for England, arriving at Liverpool on 26 August.
He marched in to the 7th Training Battalion Rollestone the next day. He contracted mumps and spent time in hospital again.
He proceeded to France from Southampton on 6 December 1917 and was appointed Lieutenant on 22 January 1918. He had several periods in hospital sick finally rejoining his unit on 5 May 1918.
He was killed in action on 5 June 1918 and is buried in Bonnay Communal Cemetery Extension, Somme France.
Online Resources
NAA: B2455 ( KEARNEY J H) National Archives of Australia
National Library of Australia: Trove Digitised Newspapers
Queensland Registrar of Births Deaths & Marriages
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