Arthur William Monaghan
- Born: 1885, Tungamah, Victoria, Australia
- Marriage (1): Elsie Rachel Leahy on 23 Jul 1919 in Coolamon, New South Wales, Australia
- Died: 1962, Lismore, New South Wales, Australia at age 77
- Buried: Lismore, New South Wales, Australia
 General Notes:
Arhtur enlisted in the A.I.F on 15 June 1917 in Sydney. He was 32 1/2 years old and a farmer. He listed his mother Johanna Monaghan of Rannock via Coolamon as his next of kin. He had tried to enlist previously but had been rejected as at 5 feet 2 inches in height he was not tall enough. This time he was successful and given the service number 3342 and assigned to the 35th Battalion. He was 156lbs in weight with a chest measurement of 34-37 inches. His complexion was fair, eyes hazel and hair dark. He listed his religion as Roman Catholic.
On 2 August 1917 he embarked on the Militades in Sydney and disembarked two months later in Glasgow, Scotland. By 12 February 1918 he was in France with the 8th Regiment of the 35th Battalion. When the German Army launched its last great offensive in the spring of 1918, the battalion was part of the force deployed to defend the approaches to Amiens around Villers-Bretonneux. It took part in a counter-attack at Hangard Wood on 30 March, and helped to defeat a major drive on Villers- Bretonneux on 4 April. The desperate nature of the fighting at this time is revealed by the fact that the 35th Battalion suffered nearly 70 per cent casualties during these operations. (Source; AWM, http://www.awm.gov.au/units/unit_11222.asp)
Arthur became a casualty himself Morlancourt on the 18 May receiving a gunshot wound to his right leg and repatriated to hospital in England. He would see out the remainder of the War there before being repatriated back to Australia on the Saxon on the 11 December after the end of the War.
Arthur and Elsie moved to Lismore in the early 1950's.
Noted events in his life were:
• He resided at at the time of his father's death on 11 Sep 1932 in Coolamon, New South Wales, Australia.
Arthur married Elsie Rachel Leahy, daughter of Jeremiah Leahy and Christina Kolges, on 23 Jul 1919 in Coolamon, New South Wales, Australia. (Elsie Rachel Leahy was born in 1887 in Hillston, New South Wales, Australia, died on 7 Oct 1955 in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia and was buried in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia.)
|
