Edward Mordan Neale
From Our Contribution
 | |
| Personal Information | |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | c1892 |
| Place of Birth | West Brunswick, Victoria |
| Death | 25 Jul 1916, aged 26 |
| Place of Death | Pozières, France |
| Age at Enlistment | 23 years, 3 months |
| Description |
5'7" (1.70m) tall ; 106lbs 48.081 kg ; fair complexion ; grey eyes ; brown hair |
| Occupation | Seaman |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Address | Gosnells, Western Australia |
| Next of Kin | Mother , Mrs A E Nicolson |
| Military Information | |
| Reg Number | 2725 |
| Date of Enlistment | 2 Aug 1915 |
| Rank | Private |
| Unit/Formation | 24th Battalion, 6th Reinforcement transferred to 7th Battalion's B Company |
| Date of Embarkation | 27 Oct 1915 ‒ 26 Nov 1915 |
| Ship Embarked On | HMAT A38 Ulysses Melbourne to Egypt |
| Fate | Killed in Action 25 Jul 1916 |
| Monument |
Gosnells War Memorial Gosnells Road Board Honour Roll Gosnells Ward Honour Roll Australian War Memorial |
| Medals |
1914-15 Star British War Medal Victory Medal |
Contents
Pre War
Electoral Roll entries: 1915 - 1916 Mornington Mills, mill hand
War Service
Enlisted in Melbourne, Victoria, parents lived in Gosnells. Entered Broadmeadows camp on 2 Aug 1915 and on 13 Oct 1915 he was allocated to the 6th reinforcement draft for the 24th Battalion, travelling with them to Egypt.
In Egypt on 24 Feb 1916, Edward was transferred to the 7th Battalion who at that time were in Serapeum, and had just been split in half to form the 59th Battalion. He was one of 483 new men to join the battalion that day.
On 23 Mar 1916 along with his unit he embarked on HMT Megantic in Alexandria for Marseilles in France, disembarking there on 31 Mar 1916. Following a journey north to the battlefields in cattle wagons, lasting more than 2 days, the battalion arrived in Godewaersvelde on the Belgium - France border between Steenvoorde and Poperinge.
The 7th Battalion was involved in a follow up attack on the partially captured village of Pozières at night on 24th Jul 1916. This was accomplished before a counter attack by German forces was made from the direction of the Windmill between 8:45 and 9:30am. If the report of his death is correct, than this is likely to be when it happened, be it by sniper fire as described, or by a bomb (hand grenade) as described by one other eye witness.
A number of variations in the way that he died are contained in his Red Cross file held by the Australian War Memorial. The most probable one states:
"I saw Neale killed. He was shot right through the head. It was at Pozières about July 27th in the morning about 9:00am. At the time I was helping him to build a barricade across a trench, death was instantaneous. He had not been buried when we were relieved three days after the casualty. I do not know about his disc or papes, but Neale gave me his Mother's name and address to write to (she had been married twice and her name was not Neale) but I lost my pack at the dump before we went into the fight, so lost the address and could not write." 4191 LCpl A V Elliott
Notes