Pte
Cornelius Gunn
Information about birth
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Date of birth: 19/09/1890 |
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Place of birth: Sheskin, Monaghan, Ireland |
General information
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Profession: Miner |
Army information
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Country: Australia |
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Force: Australian Imperial Force |
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Rank: Private |
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Service number: 6324A |
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Enlistment date: 18/10/1916 |
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Enlistment place: Blackboy Hill, Western Australia, Australia |
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Units: — Australian Infantry, 28th Bn. (Western Australia) (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 20/09/1917 |
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Place of death: Westhoek, Zonnebeke, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 27 |
Cemetery
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Hooge Crater Cemetery Plot: VI Row: B Grave: 6 |
Distinctions and medals 2
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British War Medal Medal |
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Victory Medal Medal |
Points of interest 3
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Enlistment place | ||
| #3 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Private Cornelius Gunn, a former miner, served in the 28th Battalion Australian Infantry, part of the 7th Australian Brigade, of the 2nd Australian Division. His Division participated in the Battle of Menin Road on the 20th of September 1917. This Battle was a phase of the Third Battle of Ypres. The 2nd Division attacked Anzac Ridge with two Brigades, the 7th Australian Brigade on the right and the 5th Australian Brigade on the left. Its jump off line was just east of the hamlet of Westhoek. The attack of the 7th brigade was carried by the 25th Battalion; the 27th Battalion was in support and the 28th Battalion in reserve. Each was responsible for capturing an objective.
At 5.40 a.m. the first attacking Battalions of the Division advanced behind the creeping barrage. The 28th Battalion, in reserve remained at the jumping off positions, suffering only slight casualties due to a German barrage. At 8 a.m. it was reported that the 1st and 2nd objectives had been captured. Ten minutes later the Battalion advanced to take up positions at the 2nd objective in anticipation of capturing the 3rd objective. The going was hard, but the Battalion suffered only slight casualties.
At 10 a.m. the 28th Battalion attacked through Albania Woods. They didn’t encounter much resistance. The Woods were littered with large numbers of German defenders in the woods, who had been killed by the barrage or by rifle fire. Moments later the 28th Battalion had captured its objective and started consolidating a line, roughly running from the northern outskirts of Albania Woods to Polygon Wood.
The Germans periodically shelled the support area and frontline throughout the afternoon. At 7 p.m. the Company on the right was threatened by a German counterattack from Polygon Wood. But the attack was checked, with the help of an artillery barrage. While the attack had been stopped, the German artillery shelled the battalion’s frontline for over an hour. Until the shelling finally stopped round 10 p.m. All remained relatively quiet till the Battalion was eventually relieved sometime past midnight.
Private Cornelius Gunn was killed in action on the 20th of September 1917, during the Battle of Menin Road. He was initially buried in a small cemetery behind the jump-off line west of Westhoek, near the divisional boundary with the 1st Australian Division. It’s difficult to know what happened to Private Gunn since there is no Australian Red Cross Wounded and Missing File about him. The files of the three men that were buried next to him, Private Reuben Zula, Private Herbert Stanley Marshall and Private Charles George Martyn, note that the men were killed by shell fire (although not at the same time) on the 20th of September 1917. It’s likely that Private Cornelius Gunn was also killed by shellfire while the Battalion was in reserve at the jumping off positions. His remains were exhumed after the war and were interred in Hooge Crater Cemetery.
At 5.40 a.m. the first attacking Battalions of the Division advanced behind the creeping barrage. The 28th Battalion, in reserve remained at the jumping off positions, suffering only slight casualties due to a German barrage. At 8 a.m. it was reported that the 1st and 2nd objectives had been captured. Ten minutes later the Battalion advanced to take up positions at the 2nd objective in anticipation of capturing the 3rd objective. The going was hard, but the Battalion suffered only slight casualties.
At 10 a.m. the 28th Battalion attacked through Albania Woods. They didn’t encounter much resistance. The Woods were littered with large numbers of German defenders in the woods, who had been killed by the barrage or by rifle fire. Moments later the 28th Battalion had captured its objective and started consolidating a line, roughly running from the northern outskirts of Albania Woods to Polygon Wood.
The Germans periodically shelled the support area and frontline throughout the afternoon. At 7 p.m. the Company on the right was threatened by a German counterattack from Polygon Wood. But the attack was checked, with the help of an artillery barrage. While the attack had been stopped, the German artillery shelled the battalion’s frontline for over an hour. Until the shelling finally stopped round 10 p.m. All remained relatively quiet till the Battalion was eventually relieved sometime past midnight.
Private Cornelius Gunn was killed in action on the 20th of September 1917, during the Battle of Menin Road. He was initially buried in a small cemetery behind the jump-off line west of Westhoek, near the divisional boundary with the 1st Australian Division. It’s difficult to know what happened to Private Gunn since there is no Australian Red Cross Wounded and Missing File about him. The files of the three men that were buried next to him, Private Reuben Zula, Private Herbert Stanley Marshall and Private Charles George Martyn, note that the men were killed by shell fire (although not at the same time) on the 20th of September 1917. It’s likely that Private Cornelius Gunn was also killed by shellfire while the Battalion was in reserve at the jumping off positions. His remains were exhumed after the war and were interred in Hooge Crater Cemetery.
Sources 8
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AIF-Project https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=121334 Sources used |
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Ancestry https://www.ancestry.com/ Sources used |
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Australian Red Cross Wounded and Missing Files https://www.awm.gov.au/advanced-search/people?people_preferred_name=&people_service_number=&people_unit=&roll=Australian+Red+Cross+Wounded+and+Missing+Files Sources used |
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Chris McCarthy, Passchendaele : The Day-by-Day account, 2018, 82-83. Sources used |
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CWGC https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/458169/gunn,-cornelius/ Sources used |
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Discovering Anzacs http://discoveringanzacs.naa.gov.au/ Sources used |
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National Archives of Australia https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/ Sources used |
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Neville Browning, The Blue and White Diamond : The History of the 28th Battalion A.I.F. 1915 - 1919, Osborne Park: Quality Press, 2010, 302-307. Sources used |