Claude Francis Cooper

Personal Information
Date of Birth	unknown
Place of Birth	Fremantle, Westrn Australia
Death	1930
Place of Death	Randwick, New South Wales
Age at Enlistment	19 years old
Description	6' 2" (1.88m) tall; weight 128 lbs (58.1 kg); medium complexion, blue eyes, dark brown hair
Occupation	grocer
Religion	Church of England
Address	Main street, Beenup, Western Australia
Next of Kin	Mother Mrs Elizabeth Burnside
Military Information
Reg Number	388 & R5352
Date of Enlistment	19 Oct 1914 & 1 Jan 1916
Rank	Sergeant
Unit/Formation	10th Light Horse Regiment, C Squadron / ANZAC Mounted Division 5th Battalion, 18th Reinforcement / 2nd Brigade, 1st Division
1st Date of Embarkation	17 Feb 1915 - 21 Mar 1915
Ship Embarked On	HMAT A52 Surada to Port Suez
1st Date of Return	5 Jul 1915 - 6 Aug 1915
Ship Returned On	HMAT A70 Ballarat
2nd Date of Embarkation	3 Jul 1916 - 2 Sep 1916
Ship Embarked On	HMAT A33 Ayrshire
2nd Date of Return	12 May 1919 - 21 Jun 1919
Ship Returned On	SS Soudan
Fate	Returned to Australlia (medical) Wounded in Action 23 Apr 1917 Lagnicourt area Returned to Australia
Monument	none at present
Medals	1914-15 Star British Military Medal Victory Medal

Pre War

Enlisted first time in Western Australia, second time in Victoria. A Beenup resident before first enlistment.

War Service

Initial set of documents relating to service with 10th Light Horse are largely missing, although it is known that he was a trooper who suffered with VD, spending time in the Abbassia Hospital (Egypt) in Jun 1915 before returning to Australia.

Returned to Melbourne where after recovering his health, he re-enlisted on 1 Jan 1916 at the Broadmeadows camp. On 31 May 1916 he was attached to the 20th reinforcement draft for the 5th Battalion, before being transferred to the 18th reinforcement draft on 20 Jun 1916. Re-embarked from Victoria for service in Europe.

Within a fortnight of arrival in England he proceeded to France, but not before enjoying a brief period AWOL.

He joined the 5th Battalion on 1 Oct 1916 along with 147 other reinforcements in a rest area near Ypres. Wounded on 23 Apr 1917, probably by a shell which also killed another soldier - them being the battalion's only casualties for the day.

Spent very little time with his Battalion after receiving a wound to his right buttock. (e.g. WIA 23 Apr 1917, but doesn't rejoin unit until 17 Nov 1917.) On 27 Dec 1917 he was back in England, being treated for VD and it is not until 9 Mar 1918 that he is discharged from hospital.

In Jul 1918 he was charged with being AWOL for 4 days, and soon after is again in hospital being treated for VD.

Eventually returned to France via Folkestone on 29 Aug 1918, 16 months after being wounded at Lagnicourt. Remained with his unit until his return to Australia.

Discharged 5th Military District 13 Aug 1919.

Post War

Electoral Roll entries - 1922 living in the Star Hotel Brome, working as a shell opener; in 1925 is Darlinghurst, NSW; 1930 unemployed, living at 163 Broughton street, West Darlinghurst, NSW. NSW BDMs has a death entry for 1930 in the Randwick district